On the Wings of Dragons
by Bobmin356
Summary: The Weyr prepares for the step of going public against the backdrop of heightening international tensions and increasingly complex personal issues. And is Britain really secure now that the Ministry has been conquered? Sequel to The Queen Who Fell to Earth. Harry/Hr/OCF
1. Chapter 1

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Severus Snape, Potions Master, world class ballerina and world famous child entertainer examined himself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. Today's gig was a special one, a command performance for the new king of Slobnovia, King Draco the flatulent, and it included his favorite things, potions, dancing and balloon animals.

"What the hell is this?" screeched Bob, staring over Alyx's shoulder at her screen.

Alyx looked up at him and gave him an innocent look. "If I have to write the disclaimers, I thought, what a neat way to combine disclaimers and a poignant love story about Snape and Draco falling in love, and then Draco loses his who who during a duel with the dastardly evil Harry Potter. And the rest of the story will be about the search for a replacement who who, until they discover Alyx's exclusive line of steam powered replacement parts for human organs."

Bob glanced at the audience, he grinned when he spotted Harry cheering about the part involving Draco and his wait a second. He spun around, because unlike the English, he didn't span anything, and he glared at Alyx. "Who who? Are we too afraid to say penis these days?"

Alyx cringed and glared at him. "Quiet!" she demanded imperiously, "if you're not careful you will invoke the wrath of the penis envy police on us. And while I'm safe from their scissors, you are not."

Bob looked around nervously. "I can't say penis?" he asked.

Alyx shuddered. "You are looking for trouble," she hissed.

"Why can't you just tell the people we don't own Harry Potter? Why go through all this effort, although the idea of a Draco without his penis is amusing, but Snape without a penis would be even funnier," Bob asked.

"Open up! This is the Penis Police!" shouted a voice.

Alyx turned and looked at Bob smugly. "I did warn you," she said. Bob blanched and ran off the stage.

Alyx turned to the audience. "Enjoy the first chapter of our new tale folks. With a little luck Bob will be back in time for our next disclaimer and his who who will be intact."

She turned back to her tale. "Severus smiled and adjusted his tutu to make sure his who who wasn't showing. It rarely showed anymore," she typed happily.

* * *

** I don't believe there are aliens. I believe there are really different people.  
- Orson Scott Card**

**Campbeltown Weyr, July 1st...**

Harry stepped from the administration building and looked around at the riders assembled before him. Each of them looked eager and excited to begin. Nearby, Dobby stood with the Weyr's elves. They wore backpacks containing the tents and food they would all be using for the next month. The elves knew the order Harry intended to follow and would be setting up the tents and taking care of the rider's meals.

The riders were each working on a personal book of the Weyrs. Each book which would contain the rider's own photos and any other information they thought necessary.

The plan was a simple one. They would visit every Weyr, spending the night there and using the time to look around and explore the Weyr proper and get to know the dragons a little. For Harry, it was a little more personal, as he hoped to thank the senior dragon of every Weyr for their help in fighting the dementors. He also wanted to insure that each Weyr could ultimately sustain a group of human riders. He had already realized that not every Weyr could.

While they were visiting the three Weyrs in the United States, they would examine each Weyr and determine which Weyr to bring riders to. If none were suitable, that fact would be conveyed to the American government.

Their trip would end with a week long stay at Maziang.

He turned to Sirius. "Norendrath can reach us at any time," he said.

"I know, Harry. Besides, the Grangers are going along with you, and I'm sure Katherine and I will drop in occasionally. Remus too," Sirius said with a grin. "Go enjoy yourselves. You guys deserve it."

Each of the riders had a backpack with their clothing and personal items. The backpacks and digital cameras were purchased by the Weyr and distributed to each rider. The riders hadn't had the packs an hour before they went in search of a wizard to charm them to be featherlight and space enlarged on the inside.

Despite the mood that this was more of an adventure than a working trip, Harry had insisted all the riders bring their bows and full ammunition kits. The riders would never be without their signature crossbows from now on.

Harry was actually glad to be getting away from the craziness.

The injured dragons were finally well enough to be taken to the Weyr. The British government had organized a special convoy using some old mobile homes that had been hollowed out. Four mobile homes left Balmoral castle and after a nine hour drive they pulled through the gates of Campbeltown to the trumpeting happiness of the Weyr.

Hagrid and May helped supervise the unloading with magical help from the wizards and vocal encouragement of the dragons. The dragons looked on those wounded with a great deal of respect and pride. To the dragons, they were heroes and Harry didn't disagree with them. Human or dragon, standing up to dementors was an incredibly brave thing to do.

Hagrid now tended the injured dragons in Hangar Seven, freeing up May to come along on their trip.

On the political scene, the word that best described the condition of the British Wizarding World was chaotic at best. The Prime Minister had opted to assign a muggle named William O'Hearny to assume the role of Deputy Minister of Magic. It was now the highest rank in the ministry and the Deputy Minister reported directly to the Prime Minister's office. Alejandro Croaker and Albus Dumbledore had been tasked to work as senior undersecretaries under the Deputy Minister. Their job, along with O'Hearny, would be to attempt to rebuild the Ministry of Magic into something resembling a normal ministry department within the government.

Croaker had brought back with him thirty of the aurors that had quit, but they were immediately partnered with a muggle born wizard who had some law enforcement experience.

Only one prominent Wizengamot family actually tried to protest the assumption of power by the muggles and they were quickly silenced when the British military showed them, and the British Wizards, exactly what a precision guided air attack was like. No one was killed in the attack, but the bomb landed inside their war wards and close enough to cause extensive damage to a small house on the property. It had been announced beforehand which house would be targeted and the wizards were warned to vacate it.

The point of the demonstration attack was immediately understood. Wards and shields were designed to stop magical attacks. They had little effect on muggle munitions launched from an aircraft that was seven miles away and traveling twice the speed of sound.

In short, it was a mess, but it wasn't the responsibility of the Weyr unless they were asked to help. And Harry had sent a message to the Prime Minister via Lord Mills that they were available if needed.

Harry nodded to the elves and Dobby grinned in reply, then they snapped their fingers and vanished from sight.

Harry turned and gripped Sirius' shoulder, grinning at him. "See you in August, then," he said.

Sirius nodded and pulled Harry into a rough hug, then pushed him gently. "Go away now. Katherine and I want some time alone without you and your dragons peeping in."

"_Does that mean me too?"_ asked Norendrath.

Sirius winced. The riders were going on this trip. All of the non-bonded dragons were staying behind, except for the two who were to carry the adult Grangers.

Harry grinned and then climbed up into this position on Chekiath. He glanced around and noted all of the dragons and their riders were looking at him and grinning widely. They were eagerly looking forward to this.

Harry pumped his fist twice and the dragons leapt into the air.

The assembled adults stood for a moment looking at the empty sky where thirty five dragons had once been, then they turned to go about their own tasks.

"Remus!" called Mildred O'Connor. Both O'Connor and Doctor Standish had arranged with their government to extend their stay and were slowly becoming an integral part of the science staff attached to the Weyr.

Remus paused, his hand still on the doorknob and he turned. He smiled at Mildred as she came up to him.

"Doctor Shepard would like to see you right away."

Remus nodded. "Well, I was only going to start a new fight with that demon machine, so why not?"

Mildred laughed. About once a week Remus tried very hard to make sense of the computer they had given him and he had made a little headway, but every so often he wanted to do something new and the machine whipped him into submission. So far, to everyone's amusement, it was Remus 2, Computer 200.

In fact, most of what he had learned had come from Mildred, who had sat him down and very patiently walked him through the basics of using it like a typewriter, with the ability to save and retrieve his files. Remus claimed the machine was haunted by a poltergeist that was afraid to show its head when Mildred was nearby.

Mildred held out her hand and without thinking about it, he took it in his as they walked to the Weyr hospital. Calling it a hospital was being polite, but since they already had an infirmary for dragons, they didn't want to cause any confusion. Doctor Shepard had managed to turn the eight bed aid station into a decent enough clinic with enough emergency supplies on hand to stabilize a wide variety of trauma before sending the person off to a real hospital.

He stepped into the building after holding the door open for Mildred and was thankful for air conditioning. Summer was just starting but it was already becoming uncomfortable. Their proximity to the coast made the air especially muggy, it was a condition that irritated the werewolf in him.

Mildred led him into Doctor Shepard's office. Issac Shepard looked up from the heavy book he was looking at and smiled.

"Remus, I know I didn't have much to offer you last time we spoke, but Mildred pulled some strings among her people and we learned a couple of interesting things."

"What did you learn?" asked Remus.

"The Yanks have an organization like ours called the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC for short. And like our Health Protection Agency, they are pretty much the only people studying the really dangerous diseases these days. It turns out that our cousins across the pond also have another agency. This one is attached to their military and they study diseases that they fear can be used as weapons. The United States Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases or USAMRIID has a magical unit which has made some considerable strides on the strain of virus which causes Lycanthropy in wizards."

Remus' head popped up and stared at the man for a moment.

Issac held up a hand in warning. "Remus, I want to caution you, they do not have a cure. What they do have is a potion which suppresses the transformation. It's been very successful in limited testing, but like I said, it's not a cure. They were about to embark on a study that combines magical and mundane methods. The idea is actually rather simple.

"Rabies is invariably fatal in humans unless it's caught early enough. As a general rule of thumb if someone is bit by an animal and we can't test that animal for rabies, we give the patient a series of injections which keeps any rabies from presenting in the patient as a precaution.

"However, once the symptoms present themselves, nothing helps the patient," Issac said softly.

"Then how can you help?"

"Remus, you present the symptoms once a month. The rest of the time there's no visible sign of the disease. USAMRIID was planning on attempting to suppress the disease using both their potion and the vaccine. They were hoping that they could kill it off by combining the two methods and repeating the course of treatment for six months.

"They are willing to expand their test to our side of the ocean if I can get a few more candidates and if I'm willing to follow their procedures."

"So you're saying that they have a cure?" asked an incredulous Remus.

Mildred placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. She was having difficulty believing Issac also.

"No!" Issac said sharply. "They have a potion which prevents the transformation. And they have a theory which looks good on paper. Is it a cure? Right now it's not even a treatment. Even if it helps you and you never turn into a werewolf again, it may never be a real cure. We just don't know until we try it. The question I have for you is a simple one. Do you want to participate in this experiment and can you find four or five others like yourself who might be willing?"

Remus nodded slowly, clearly shaken by what he had heard. It never occurred to him that by combining muggle and magical healing, they could have a possible cure.

"Issac, with very few exceptions, nearly every werewolf in Britain would volunteer for this. I am the lucky one. I have good friends and a job. Most werewolves don't have anyone."

Issac leaned forward in his chair. "So you're willing to try this?"

Remus nodded fervently.

"Oh, Remus," Mildred whispered.

He looked up at her and was surprised by the tears streaking her cheeks. He decided that tomorrow he'd approach some of the other werewolves he knew. Today, he needed to talk to her.

"Right, then. Find me at least five people, Remus. I'll contact USAMRIID and let them know we'll participate," Issac said. "Look at it this way. Even if this doesn't work, I'm going to try to insure all of the participants get access to the suppression potion."

Remus turned back to Issac and nodded. "I'll do that in the morning." He then turned to Mildred and offered her his hand. "First thing, I think I need to talk to my American friend," he said softly. He smiled to reassure her and she returned his smile.

Mildred had never really found anyone she could consider as a compatible spirit to her own until she met Remus. He didn't have the math and science background that she did, but he had a level of intelligence that still matched and complimented her own.

She took his hand and Issac watched them walk out of his office. He smiled and shook his head then he glanced down at the documents describing the American test. He hoped for Remus' sake that it would be a success. The theory sounded promising.

**Ministry of Magic, July 1st...**

Albus entered the office building and took the lift to the basement. This was the old entrance that the Ministry forced its squib employees to use and for now, it was the only working entrance into the subsurface building.

The street entrance had been hurriedly repaired and new wards had been put in place, blocking any possible apparation into the building. It was currently closed until they could rework it or find another entrance to use.

Albus opened the dingy steel door that looked like it was an entrance to a utility closest and he stepped into a brightly lit room. A wizard and a royal marine stood in front of another, ornate wooden door that looked out of place in this cold concrete room. Right next to the door was a small mechanical looking panel mounted on the wall.

"Good morning, gentlemen. All is well, I trust?" he said congenially.

"Good morning, sir," replied the wizard. The marine had never spoken as far as Albus knew. He was starting to wonder if he could talk.

The sound of machinery in the room was unmistakable. Someone was running heavy equipment nearby and the sound was coming from beyond the ornate wooden door.

"ID Please?"

Albus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small photo ID that he had been given. He knew these men recognized him, but he had been warned that they would not allow him access without seeing that ID card.

The wizard examined the ID for a moment, then he handed it back to Albus. "Please place your hand palm down on the glass, sir."

Albus watched in amusement as the machine hummed and chugged for a moment before lighting a green panel. The box had been installed only two days ago and he still marveled at the ingenuity of it. The ornate wooden door buzzed slightly and he knew he had only a moment, so he pushed it open and waved a jolly farewell to the two security officers.

Stepping into the main atrium, he ignored the dozens of workmen who were busy working on wiring the floor for power. The sound of drills and power saws filled the atrium. This would be a new ministry and it would run on the same machines as the rest of the government. Where that wasn't possible, they would work up some compromises.

Most of the offices were still shut down with former ministry employees attending a set of classes. Some department heads and their employees had been retained, but every department head now had either a muggle or a muggle born wizard as a partner to make sure the department functioned properly. And everyone of the original employees were going to be tested for their ability to perform. The new ministry would not allow any dead weight just because they were pure bloods.

Albus stepped around the crew who were busy scrubbing the walls. Under proper electric lighting it became apparent that the walls of the building hadn't been cleaned in nearly one hundred and fifty years. It was estimated that it would take weeks to clean the walls and the cleaning crews were using magic and some of the strongest cleaning chemicals known.

He walked over to the bank of lifts and took a lift down one floor. He exited and quickly made his way to what had once been the office of the Minister for Magic. Albus stepped into the large office with three desks. "Good morning, William, Alejandro," he said jovially.

Alejandro looked up and frowned, while William O'Hearny returned his greeting. O'Hearny was squib who was distantly related to the royal family. He also had more than thirty years of experience, first in the Royal Navy, then in the Foreign Office. He was a consummate diplomat and a self confessed expert in the history of the British colonial system and it's administration. His hobby made him uniquely suited for running the Ministry, which was for all intents and purposes, a Ministry governing a conquered people.

"Potter and his people have left, then?" asked Alejandro. He found himself both respecting and disliking Potter. The boy was a wizard who cared little about wizarding tradition and values. That the boy was the strongest wizard of the current generation only irked him more.

"Yes, they made off early this morning and shouldn't be back until sometime in August," Albus replied. "They will be visiting every Weyr before stopping at Maziang to see how they are making out."

O'Hearny frowned slightly, "Albus, you know the PM isn't too happy with that particular location. Tibet is still under the control of China."

"Yes, yes, but as Harry pointed out, the dragons in that Weyr could flee in a matter of seconds, should they be discovered. And as you know, the Weyr itself is hidden from the muggles. The Weyrleader intends to raise this very topic with the people at Maziang. He's just as concerned as the PM."

O'Hearny nodded thoughtfully. "So, how are your plans going?"

Albus looked down at his desk and sighed. "Well enough, I suppose. I have two plans, actually, and I'm not sure which is best. First, I have talked with several people from the office of the Secretary of State for Education. All Hogwarts students will undergo a series of tests to help determine their standings. The September through December term will proceed as normal, except for those tests which will be held in December."

He paused and shuffled some papers on his desk. "This is where the plan diverges. We can construct a building in Hogsmeade that we can use for teaching the students, but there's no electricity in Hogsmeade and probably won't be anytime soon. The second option is to portkey the students to a regular school, which creates security issues that I don't think we're willing to deal with yet. We already have plans in place to bus the younger children to ten regular schools so they can begin their muggle education with a little magical history thrown in."

O'Hearny leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together. "I see," he said softly. "And your recommendation?"

"Build the school in Hogsmeade, but make it large enough to take in students from age six. Let the younger years cover the standard subjects that all students have. Use magical means for lighting and heating until power becomes available. If we started construction in a couple weeks, it would be ready in about a month, just in time for the school year and certainly be ready for the Hogwarts students after their tests," Albus said a bit hesitantly. He had noted that O'Hearny and the other muggle born were pushing hard for muggle solutions wherever possible.

"Makes sense," O'Hearny said after a moments reflection. He smiled at the surprised expressions on their faces. "Gentlemen, we seem to have gotten off to a wrong impression. Her Majesty's government isn't opposed to the use of magic. I fully understand that a young wizard needs to be taught to control their magic, otherwise they pose a danger to themselves and to others. The purpose of using muggle solutions is because we need to try to work with other departments within the government. The use of magic will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

"As for the children, the Queen would like it if her magical subjects were capable of living in the muggle world without killing themselves. She isn't going to insist that they do, but she wants the children to learn to enjoy the benefits both worlds offer.

"On this issue, we could build a school and have it ready in a couple years if we use purely muggle methods. Albus says it would be ready by September, if we use magic in the building process. The lack of power does pose a problem, but we can overcome some of those easily enough. As long as the building is lit and heated, a teacher can instruct his or her class using the old fashioned chalk boards and pen and paper. A generator could be used to provide power for office computers and other essential machines."

The two wizards exchanged a relieved look, then turned back to O'Hearny.

"And you, Alejandro? How goes the rebuilding of our police force?" asked O'Hearny.

Alejandro looked unhappy. "Slowly, William. All of the old laws have been struck down. Right now, we're sending Aurors out with people who have law enforcement experience in the muggle world. Frankly, it's poor fit. The muggle born wizards who were policemen need to learn to ignore muggle crimes committed by muggles, while our Aurors need to learn what laws they need to enforce.

"It's working for now, but I expect at some point it's going to fall apart if something isn't done."

O'Hearny frowned. "Yes, that is a problem. How about if we run people through some training. Both groups, old aurors and muggle born could receive the instruction they need."

Croaker nodded. "That would help, but without a Wizengamot, how will we create new laws?"

O'Hearny smiled. "Her Majesty asked me that same question and I'll give you the same answer I gave her. Until we are fully integrated into the Home Office publicly, there is only one source of laws for us to follow. Her Majesty the Queen. I suggested we put a working legal group consisting of muggle legal experts and wizards with the intent of culling through the old laws. Some would be approved to be sent to her Majesty and if she approved they would be made official laws. I instructed Arthur Weasley to form a new department which will oversee the effort and also deal with all of the old ministry rules and directives. His Department of Revision should be up and running in a few days. He'll also personally oversee any recommendations made to the Queen, adding additional detail if need be."

O'Hearny held out a hand and shrugged. "It won't be easy, it won't be fast, but it's really our only option. At some point, the working group would start suggesting new laws or borrowing others from the standard muggle laws."

Both wizards grimaced. The ministry had a long way to go before it was fully functional. Now Albus knew how Harry felt. Cross one item from the 'to-do' list, add three more. He sighed and conjured a book that looked exactly like Harry's and he started his own list.

**Mousa Island, just off Shetland Island, Weyr #2 in the Book Of Weyrs, July 1st...**

Harry and the wings popped out of Between to the sound of an entire Weyr trumpeting in welcome. Harry grinned and a number of the riders waved to the dragons as they spiraled in for a landing. Harry recalled the facts about the Weyr from their book. This used to be the primary reserve for the United Kingdom after the goblin herd of dragons. It was a slightly above average sized Weyr of two hundred and sixty dragons that fed themselves by hunting large marine mammals and pilfering from some of the wizard owned herds both on Shetland Island proper and on the mainland.

"_Hermione says this island is famous for neolithic structures. It's a historically important location to the government and gives us clues about life in early Briton,"_ Comaloth announced importantly. The dragon made that announcement to all of the assembled riders and their dragons.

"_She also says it is considered a crime to disturb any of the ruins or taking any artifacts you might find."_

Harry shook his head. "Leave it to Hermione," he muttered with a chuckle.

Chekiath rumbled in laughter and then he landed lightly in front of a large Horntail. The large dragon looked at Chekiath and actually took a step backwards in shock. Chekiath was at least twenty feet longer than this dragon.

Harry lightly jumped down and turned to face the dragon after thumping Chekiath's flank affectionately. "Are you the senior dragon here?" he asked.

"_Welcome, Weyrleader. I am Milzoth, senior dragon for this clan,"_ replied the dragon.

Harry sketched a small bow. "My riders and I wish to familiarize ourselves with your Weyr and see if there are needs here that should to be addressed. Regrettably, we can only spend today and part of tomorrow here, and then we must move on to the next Weyr."

Harry paused and gestured to the riders who were all down on the ground and looking around with interest. "Starting with the next batch of new Riders, we shall have them visit every Weyr so that they may know the Weyr and you. It is even possible that someday some of those riders may decided to stay and help you bring riders of your own to this Weyr."

Harry's dragons thrummed in approval and the Weyr dragons trumpeted happily. They were excited by the possibility of turning their Weyr into a place for riders, but they also knew that it could take years to make that happen. That didn't bother them, as they were patient. After all, just a year ago the idea would have been unthinkable. But today, the Weyrleader of Earth stood in their Weyr asking about their problems and their needs.

Milzoth bowed his head low. _"You honor us, Weyrleader. If we can do anything to make your stay more special, just ask."_

Milzoth stopped when Harry chuckled and shook his head. "We have brought accommodations for our riders and our dragons ate before we left home. Our needs are few. Tonight we'll build a big fire and we'll talk about any thing you wish."

Milzoth gazed over Harry's shoulder. He could see some elves erecting tents and another elf that was preparing a large bonfire that they would use tonight.

The riders were walking around, taking photos with their digital cameras for their own Weyr books. It had been decided that Remus would help maintain the primary Book of the Weyrs, but each rider would compile their own using the master book and the information they learned from their graduation trip.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, July 1st...**

Momnarth met with Minerva just in front of the entrance hall. Minerva had apparated to the school and was shocked to see the large dragon waiting for her.

"Momnarth? Is there a problem?"

"_No, Harper. The Weyrleader considers you to be very special, almost a part of his family. We thought it best to make sure you arrived safely,"_ replied the large Horntail.

Minerva blinked and was about to reply when a squeaky voice interrupted her. "Minerva? Good gracious! Are you all right?"

Minerva turned and smiled. Filius Flitwick stood in the doorway with his wand trained on the large dragon.

"I'm fine, Filius. Put your wand away. Momnarth and I are good friends," replied Minerva with a slight smile.

Filius stepped out of the castle and onto the top step. He looked warily at the large dragon.

Minerva laid a hand on his shoulder. "Filius, I would like to introduce you to Momnarth. She is the dragon that Harry Potter encountered in the tournament."

Minerva looked up at Momnarth. "Momnarth, this is Professor Filius Flitwick, one of our best professors at the school."

"_I am pleased to meet you, Little Harper. Luna has spoken highly of you. But from her description you __were much taller,"_ Momnarth said, then she bobbed her head and moved a little closer to Filius.

Flitwick's legs gave way and he sat heavily on the stone. "My word!" he exclaimed. "Albus was right!"

He peered up at the large dragon. "Is Luna well? She was such a dear child. I was appalled to discover that some of my house were picking on her. She's with Harry, then? And the others. Are they with Harry, as well?"

"_She is Trandieth's rider and a good friend of the Weyrleader,"_ Momnarth pronounced. _"She is very important to the Weyr and will lead us to discover more riders and Snorkacks."_

The little professor chuckled and shook his head. He was unaware that the Weyr would look for Luna's Snorkacks. Trandieth had very seriously informed the Weyrleader that she would have known if her rider was lying and she wasn't. She had admitted that Luna often used made up animals to see what kind of reaction she could get from people, but Snorkacks were very real.

"Filius, if you would prefer, you could stay here and talk with Momnarth. But I must speak," she stopped talking and jumped in fright as her hat was rudely pushed from her head and Clarence took up the spot.

"I'm here now, Headmistress," the hat announced, then it turned towards Momnarth. "Hogwarts welcomes you, dragon."

Momnarth looked at the hat for a moment, tilting her head from side to side in a manner much like a puppy. Her eyes slowly twirled with streaks of green. _"I have never spoken to a hat before. Hello, Hat."_

"The hat is an extension of the castle, Momnarth. The castle is alive in a way and it knows about itself," Minerva said. "The hat speaks for the school and she protects us and her children. Clarence, this is Momnarth."

The hat dipped its tip again towards the dragon. "Hogwarts wants to thank you, Momnarth. She is very fond of Harry Potter and tried as much as she could to protect him."

"_Then you have our thanks, Hogwarts. You protected our Weyrleader and now he protects us all."_

The hat dipped again, then it turned it's attention to Minerva. "Headmistress, there is much to discuss and much still to accomplish. We must turn the wards over to you before the day ends."

Minerva sighed and nodded in agreement. "Momnarth, thank you for seeing me home."

"_It was my honor, Harper. I will return to the Weyr, but I am sure we will see each other again,"_ Momnarth said, then she turned to Filius, who couldn't tear his eyes off of the dragon. _"It was an honor to meet you as well, Little Harper. I will tell Luna that she has misjudged your height."_

Momnarth turned away and took a few steps before she coiled her body and sprang aloft. Filius gasped again when the dragon went Between.

Finally, he shook from his shock and turned to Minerva. "Little Harper?"

Minerva laughed. "Come, Filius. I have a wonderful tale that you'll enjoy and I think even Hogwarts will like to hear it."

The pair entered the castle and the doors closed behind them.

Hogwarts hummed happily to herself. Her Headmistress was finally here, ready to take control, and one of her favorite pupils was safe. It saddened her that he wasn't here, but she was certain she would meet up with him again.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, July 2nd...**

Sirius sat down at the empty table and started to wolf down his meal. Katherine had been working late every night this week and after her shift she had been coming to his quarters for some late night entertainment. He looked at the larger than normal meal for himself and grinned. Katherine's late night visits had resulted in an increasing appetite.

"May we join you?"

He looked up in surprise and smiled when he saw Sir Robert and Narcissa standing nearby with their trays in their hands. He quickly motioned towards the empty seats. "Please do."

"I know we haven't spoken much with all the upheaval happening lately, Sir Robert, but how are things at your end of the Weyr?" Sirius asked.

Sir Robert beamed a wide smile. "The work on the fence is proceeding and in a week they will break ground for the power station. It's going to sit on the land the government bought up. Meanwhile, we've been swamped with some fascinating data. I've been running a project to determine exactly what the best materials are for our dragon friends to heat up. Common stones like granite and skarn seem to be our best candidates, but we're still trying out samples. Once we've worked through the natural stones, we'll try heating some carbon composites, which we think might be suitable."

Sirius looked at the man for a moment, then shrugged. "I'll have to take your word for it," he murmured with a grin.

"Siri," Narcissa said softly, "you aren't nearly as dense as you make yourself appear to be."

Sirius glanced over to Narcissa, who he still didn't know how to treat. Finally, he nodded. "Call it a defense mechanism, Cissi. According to Katherine, I have a number of them, including a tendency to hide my true feelings behind inane pranks."

"I'm sure she's been enjoying her exploration of your mechanisms," Narcissa said without any rancor. "She seems quite happy these days."

Sirius blushed and Narcissa smiled. She knew she had hit the target with her comment. And she knew Sirius would see it for what it was, an offer of peace between the two of them.

Sirius looked at her speculatively. Harry had been the first one to change his mind about her, thanks mostly to her willingness to protect Sir Robert. Everyone realized that Harry had a hard time with the concept of 'Mother' as opposed to 'Mum', especially when Emma Granger was the stand in 'Mum' for quite a few of the riders.

_Harry has a reason to hate her more than anyone else,_ Sirius mused. _She was, no, is, a marked Death Eater who avoided going to prison with her husband and he is still willing to give her a chance. What does he see that I'm missing?_

Throwing caution to the wind he leaned a little closer. "So, how are you and Draco doing?"

Narcissa smiled weakly. "Better, I think. As bad a role model as Lucius and I presented, somewhere, somehow, he was taught to think for himself. He's growing up very strong. I haven't had many conversations with him, but I think we're making some progress."

She thought back to just a day ago when she stopped Draco before he climbed onto his dragon.

"_Draco," she called._

_He paused and turned away from his dragon. "Yes, Mother?"_

"_I know it doesn't mean much, but thank you for coming for me at the manor," she said. "And I think your Michelle is a beautiful girl."_

_Draco blinked in surprise and a small smile formed. "Thank you," he said softly. "I'll tell her you said that."_

_She nodded. "Stay safe, my son," she replied, then she turned and hurried away, not wanting him to witness her tears. Crying was unbecoming for a Slytherin._

Her smile broadened a little. "I think that someday he might even like me." It surprised her that Draco's approval actually mattered to her.

Sirius nodded. Since her arrival, the only thing he had seen of the old Narcissa was how she had worked hard to become the personal assistant to Sir Robert when he was at the Weyr. She still hoped that some of the power that the Weyr would accrue might come her way and Harry personally felt that if she continued the way she was going, she would have earned it.

"Cissi, I expect to be in the office that Remus and I share around five pm. Come see me and I'll give you back your wand."

She stared at him in shock. She had been without her wand for so long now that she found herself doing things muggle style without thinking about it. Her first action in walking into a room was to reach for a light switch.

She choked up and nodded. "Thank you," she whispered.

Sirius stood. "Harry wanted you to have it earlier, but I talked him out of it. I think, however, that we're past the point where you're about to run around torturing muggles."

When she shook her head at him, he grinned. "One word of advice, Cissi. You may have lost a chance to be Draco's mum, but someday you'll have a new chance with grandchildren. Watch Emma and how she deals not only with Hermione, but the other riders. She's loved and respected by everyone."

With that he stood up, nodded to them both, then turned and walked away.

Sir Robert beamed and reached over to grip her arm. "What did I tell you? You just had to show them that you're willing to change. You've been doing wonderfully."

She nodded, then she stood. "I'll get us some tea, then you can outline what you need next week. This way I'll have your schedule all set up."

Sir Robert smiled. "Very well, my dear."

**#4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging Surrey, July 15th...**

Vernon scowled when the doorbell rang. It wasn't even eight in the morning and someone was at the door!

"Get the door, Dudley," he snapped.

Dudley frowned. The freak hadn't returned from his school this summer and they hadn't heard from him so his father was making him do more around the house.

"But," he protested.

"I'll get it," Petunia said placatingly. Since the start of the summer, the tension in the house had been sky high and she still hadn't realized that without Harry there, Vernon was using them to vent his anger on.

She quickly stood and walked out of the dinning room. She opened the front door, happy to escape the tense scene starting in the dinning room. She was surprised to see several police officers and three men in suits.

"Mrs. Vernon Dursley?"

"Yes?"

"Excellent, this is the right place," said a police officer. He reached into a file and pulled out a thick sheet of papers and he handed it to Petunia. "This is a warrant for us to search this house. I also have warrants for yourself and your husband on the charges of child abuse. Mr. Furgison here also has business with your husband. He represents Inland Revenue. Constable Hayden will take your son into temporary custody until we clear up the charges of vandalism and theft he has against him."

Petunia turned white as a sheet and dropped to the floor in a dead faint. She never noticed the additional police support showing up, nor the prisoner transport van, but her neighbors did.

The men stepped over Petunia and into the house itself, while one policewoman knelt to place handcuffs on Petunia.

From inside number four, shouts and screams broke out while outside, the neighbors of Privet drive gathered to watch and wonder about the Dursleys. Many of them had realized that something was wrong when government investigators had come around asking about Harry Potter months earlier. A small few of those neighbors realized now that they hadn't seen the boy at all this summer and they hoped he was alright.

**Lac Logipi Weyr, Weyr #17 in the Book Of Weyrs, July 16th...**

The wings came out of Between to a surprising sight. All of the dragons of the Weyr below lined the rim and bellowed in welcome. Harry directed the wings to an easy landing in the center of the old volcanic bowl where Sorth, the senior dragon waited for him.

They were used to the Weyr greeting their arrival, but never before had a Weyr been out in formation as if waiting for them.

As the wings came in to land, the dragons lining the rim bowed their heads. Each of these dragons vividly remembered the day they were attacked by wizards using muggle military tanks and each of them remembered the Weyrleader who had wept for dragons he didn't even know.

The riders had been too new and their dragons too young to help when Harry led the rest of the Weyr in the attack against the wizards and for many this was the first time they had visited a Weyr that had such a profound impact on them. Up until that point, they'd had no idea just how much the death of a dragon would affect them.

Off to one side, near the top of the rim, lay the three burned out and partially melted hulks that had once been premiere weapons of war.

Harry easily dismounted and walked over to greet the senior dragon. "Sorth, you are looking well."

"_Thank you, Weyrleader. Thanks to you, we are safe here,"_ Sorth replied.

Harry glanced around and noted that all but four of the Weyr's dragons had come down from the rim to join the wings. The remaining four had gone airborne, providing a constant air patrol.

Harry dug into his bottomless bag on his belt and pulled out six metal disks the diameter of a soda can. "The Weyr will be even safer once we get these installed."

Sorth moved a little closer and eyed the small objects, his eyes twirling slowly. _"What are they?"_

"These are rune based ward stones. We've been installing them in every Weyr so far. They prevent any wizard from suddenly appearing in your Weyr," Harry replied.

"_They don't look like much,"_ Sorth said doubtfully.

Harry chuckled. He'd had this conversation at every Weyr they had visited thus far. "I know, my friend, but trust me, these will stop a wizard from apparating into the bowl or using a portkey."

Sorth's eyes whirled. _"Wizards have a way of going Between?"_

Harry nodded. "Not quite, but the idea is the same. The Wizards have a Between of their own and with these they won't be able to use their Between to come here. They will have to arrive nearby and walk to the Weyr, hopefully giving you enough time to spot them."

Ronan trotted up to them. "Harry, the elves have the tents up and Hermione has pulled the map for the Weyr."

Harry nodded and turned back to the dragon. "Sorth, this is Ronan Clark, Garanoth's rider and my Wing Second."

"_I welcome you to our Weyr, Wing Second Ronan,"_ Sorth stated formally.

Ronan bowed slightly to the Swedish Short Snout. "Thank you Sorth. I am glad to finally make it. We have heard so much about your Weyr."

"Sorth, Ronan will be looking around, trying to determine if there are any problems that we can take care of for you. I will be supervising the placement of the wards. Later tonight, after our meal, we'll gather around a large fire in the bowl and talk about what we can do to make things easier for you."

Sorth's eyes twirled rapidly, flashing blue. _"We are grateful for your help, Weyrleader."_

Harry nodded, then he turned to his wing second.

Ronan grinned at him. "I'll take it from here. I know you want to get those wards in place."

Harry nodded, and glanced up at the sun blazing down on them. "Make sure everyone has enough water, Ronan. This sun is going to be brutal. There's a lake nearby, but no one is to drink that water until someone can cast a purifying spell on it. Also, remind everyone to use their insect repellant."

Before they'd left, everyone had received a series of immunizations and a very stern lecture from Doctor Sheppard about tropical diseases and how they could be avoided. Generally it boiled down to using insect repellant and making sure their food and water were clean.

"I'll speak with the elves and make sure everyone has a water bottle."

"Thanks, mate," Harry said, then he turned and started to walk up the slope of the bowl towards the three tanks that were still there. Chekiath followed him closely. He had known that in some way Harry had been troubled by coming to this Weyr again.

After a five minute climb, he sat down on a rock not twenty feet from the burned out tanks. "You know, the muggles were probably innocent victims of the wizards, Cheki. They were probably being controlled. I didn't think of it at the time, I just ordered the Weyr to attack. And now I regret having to kill them, but I know I'd do it again if I had to. What does that say about me?"

"_It says you'll protect us,"_ Chekiath replied.

"It says that you're human, Harry," said a voice.

Harry turned to see Dan Granger standing nearby. He held two bottles of water in his hands. "It says that you'll do what you have to, to protect the lives of your family. No one can do any less."

Dan gestured to a nearby rock and Harry nodded. Dan tossed him a bottle of water, then he sat and looked around for a moment. "I have never seen a tank up close, let alone one that's been melted before.

"It's hard for me to look at this stuff and not feel a shiver of fear. I am a product of a time when there was a distinct possibility that these machines would be used against us. To see them like this speaks of a terrible power. Then I look at you. Not even sixteen and you hold a power over the world that could topple civilization and I believe for a fact that you'd rather die that exercise that power.

"It would be so easy to jump back in time and prevent your parents from being killed, or prevent a war or any number of terrible things that have happened, but you don't."

Dan motioned to the tanks. "People died and you regret having to do that. No matter what doubts you might have, Harry, as long as you continue to have those doubts and regrets, your humanity remains intact."

"Don't be fooled, Mr. Granger. I thought about jumping back in time, but there's so much that could be screwed up. I never knew my parents. I wish I could say my relatives were nice people but they weren't. Jumping back in time to save them might also end up ruining everything I know. It's not something I'm willing to risk. So instead I make do."

Dan chuckled. "That's all we can do. Every one of us has regrets and things we wish we could change in our lives. Instead, we make do. It's not like there's a book that tells you what to do. I fought with my father and by the time I grew up to have a family of my own, he had died and I never got the chance to tell him I was sorry. We have regrets and all we can do is try to make sure we don't regret too much of our lives."

Dan looked up and smiled seeing Hermione standing nearby.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I need to get the ward stones from Harry."

Harry looked up and then grinned. Hermione held the topographical map that Sir Robert had gotten for each Weyr. It had been pre-marked by Harry with the locations where the runes were to be placed. "I'll charge the anchor stone when you have it in place," Harry said, handing the six disks over to Hermione.

Hermione shook her head. "No, you won't. You've charged the last five anchors and you need a break. We all took the class that Professor Dumbledore gave on charging those stones, so there's no reason for you to exhaust yourself every day. Luna said she'll take the anchor today. I'll do tomorrow's stone."

"But," he protested.

"Harry," she interrupted, "in the last five days you've crawled into bed earlier and earlier because you're not giving yourself a chance to recover from each charging. We have the stones that Professor Dumbledore created and the maps that you marked up. Let us spread the work around."

"_Please don't fight her over this, Harry. I know how tired you've been. If I have to, I'll ask May to step __in. You know that when it comes to health, she can outrank you,"_ Chekiath added.

While May wasn't a human healer, anything that affected a dragon gave her an overriding authority that the dragons recognized. It was an authority that Harry had bestowed on Hagrid and May and he couldn't retract it just because it inconvenienced him.

Harry sighed and shook his head. He could argue with Hermione, but he couldn't argue with Hermione and Chekiath, plus it looked like Dan wanted to add his two cents. "Fine. Let Luna do it then," he said without rancor.

Hermione nodded, a bit surprised he had given in so easily. But then, she didn't know that Chekiath had jumped into the argument. "Thanks, Harry. I'll see you both later." Turning, she walked away, the stones in her hand.

"Harry, did you know that the CEO of most companies have no clue how to make what their company sells?" asked Dan. "If you were to ask the president of Sony to make a Walkman like the one you carry, he probably couldn't do it."

Harry looked at him in surprise.

"It's true," Dan reassured him. "Most of the top bosses in the world don't know much about making cars or airplanes, or televisions. What they do know is how to manage people to get the most amount of work out of them. You did just that when you created the wings and assigned Wing Leaders and Seconds. You rely on them to make sure their wing is ready and able to perform their duties. In return for a little extra privilege, they take care of their dragons and their riders for you so you don't have to worry about them.

"Like many others, I was initially worried that you were working yourself to death. You've improved a lot in that regard, but every so often you fall back into an old habit of trying to do it all by yourself."

"It's a hard habit to break. I am used to having to do everything for myself," Harry admitted ruefully.

Dan smiled. He knew Harry was trying very hard to let others do more. He was about to say something when Dobby appeared holding a large manila envelope and a smaller sheet with Harry's name on it. "Thank you, Dobby," he murmured, then he took the offered envelope. He quickly read the short note and he smiled. "Dobby, could you ask Susan Bones and Emma to join us? Hermione, too, if she's not busy."

Dan looked at him questioningly and Harry chuckled, then he handed over the envelope and the short note. Dan looked down at the note.

_Harry,_

_Enclosed are the final documents awarding guardianship of Susan Bones to Dan and Emma Granger. Your comment to the Prime Minister apparently resulted in someone lighting a fire under some people. The departments involved were told to process the forms or they'd be reporting to the crown personally about why they were dragging their feet. Please give the papers to Dan and Emma to examine. If everything is all right with them, have Dan and Emma sign them, then send Dobby back with the papers and I'll put them in the vault here at the Weyr to keep them safe._

_The Prime Minister's office also included forms in case the Grangers want to move to adopt Susan. I've included the papers in the package. If they are interested, have them sign them and I'll see they are sent back to the PM's office to get the ball rolling._

_Give Dan and Emma my best wishes and congratulations._

_James Mills_

"Well, I'll be damned," Dan said in surprise, then he carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the thick wad of forms and documents. Harry had hand delivered a request from the PM to be the guardian of Susan Bones and after only a short discussion between Susan, Hermione, Emma and himself, they decided to agree to the request.

Dan looked up to see a perplexed Emma and Susan coming from one direction, and Hermione, slowly puffing her way up to where he sat with Harry. He shook his head at his daughter, who would never be much of an athlete.

Susan and Emma arrived first and Dan wordlessly handed the paperwork to Emma. She glanced down and looked up at Dan, startled by what she held in her hands. "Wait for Hermione to arrive," Dan said softly.

Hermione arrived a moment later. "Harry, if this is about the wards," she started.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "No, but your dad has something he wants to tell you."

Hermione turned to her father, who grinned up at her from his spot on the rock.

"You know I always thought life would have been a bit easier for you pumpkin if we could have had more children. As it stands, we were lucky to have you. Thanks to a childhood illness that was poorly timed, my ability to father children was greatly reduced."

"Dan," Emma said softly.

He smiled gently at her. "It's all right, Em. It might be late and it's not quite an adoption, but Hermione, feel free to consider Susan as your new sister. The papers came through, along with new paperwork that we'll let you think over, Susan. If you want, Emma and I would be happy to let you add Granger to your name. The Prime Minister sent over paperwork for a formal adoption, if you want."

Susan stared between Dan and Emma and her eyes filled with tears. "Adoption?" she whispered. Amelia Bones had been a kindly guardian, but she was rather prim and standoffish and totally unlike the Grangers.

Emma stepped forward and wrapped Susan into a hug, a moment later Dan and Hermione joined them. Harry watched them for a moment with a wistful expression, then he stood and walked away without saying a word. This was a family moment and he didn't want to intrude. He was just glad that things had worked out well for Susan.

As much as he loved Sirius, he knew that the time they had missed together had created a gulf that was hard to cross. Both men had experienced hardships that they were reluctant to talk about. Sirius was his godfather and guardian, but adoption was not a topic that they ever talked about.

Chekiath followed Harry back down to the center of the bowl. He made a soft snuffling sound and Harry looked at him curiously.

"_Someday you'll have a family of your own, Harry, and I will always be with you,"_ Chekiath said gently.

Harry smiled at the thought. "A family would be nice, Cheki," he said a bit wistfully.

"_And before then, you have me, and you can practice with any of the girls,"_ Cheki replied.

Harry shook his head. "Still trying to get me laid, I see."

"_It would relax you,"_ Cheki said smugly. _"But some I think would confuse you. Luna is a fun girl and I think you would enjoy covering her, but I think she would make your brain hurt after a while."_

Harry laughed at that. He liked Luna a lot, but she did make his brain hurt. "I don't have to have sex with her to get a headache, Cheki. She does on her own without involving sex."

He spotted Ronan walking towards him and he changed direction to meet him.

"Harry, your wards are nearly in place. I've been looking over things, and they're pretty well set. The old buildings that the dragon handlers used were burned down, like in most other Weyrs, but the area can be cleaned up and buildings can be erected for administration and a kitchen hall. The actual dragon Weyrs could be enlarged enough to house a rider. Some of the natural caves are quite large and could be hollowed out to allow for more Weyr space."

Harry nodded and looked around. "It's a good place for dragons, but I think it's rather bleak for people."

Ronan grinned at him. "Maybe, but if you're raised in Africa, you'd not have a problem with it. Don't forget you're letting your own preference of climate and location affect you."

Harry pulled out a pocket handkerchief mopped at his brow. It was mid July and it was blistering hot. He couldn't imagine living in a place like this. "That's true," he admitted. "I prefer something a little more green and cooler."

He motioned to the area leading away from the old bowl. The ground was a bright yellowish brown and most of the vegetation was a form of scrub brush. It was a hot, dry, inhospitable place in Harry's mind, but he could understand Ronan's point.

Harry motioned to a set of nearby rocks they could sit on and they walked over to them. "I think what I'm trying to say is we need to set some basic standards for what makes a place viable for a Weyr with riders. Do you remember Corales Isla Fuerte? That Weyr was beautiful with a nearby pristine white sand beach and a good food sources nearby. In so many ways it was perfect, except for the fact that it was on an island that was already crawling with people. There was no room for Riders to set up shop."

Harry looked around the bowl again. He could see May checking over the young dragons that had been injured in the attack and he smiled. She made it a point to check any dragons that were reporting problems in every Weyr they visited.

"Or Nevado del Huila in Columbia? That Weyr is sitting on a ticking bomb. We might be able to get the goblins help in delaying the next eruption, but sooner or later it's still going to erupt. We have the same problem at Disko."

"So what do you suggest?" asked Ronan.

Harry grinned. He and Ronan were friends, and the more they worked together, the more Ronan seemed to know he had ideas to share. Sometimes Harry used Ronan to work out ideas before presenting them to others.

"I've been recording my own thoughts about the viability of each Weyr we visited. That's why I've had you look at the Wizard made buildings and the dragon Weyrs and caves. In some cases, if we had some riders that want to start a Weyr, they may end up having to find a new location and moving the dragons there, rather than using the spot they're in now. Places like Nevado del Huila are too dangerous for riders or dragons. I've already made a note to ask the Goblins to look at the volcano, but I suspect that they won't be able to delay things too long," Harry said.

Ronan shook his head. "How do you keep track of everything? I have my hands full between classes and making sure the Wing is up to snuff."

Harry chuckled and pulled his little notebook out of his pocket. "Don't be fooled, Ronan. Without this little book, I'd be lost. If it weren't for you keeping track of the Wing, I don't think I'd be able to handle half as much as I do. I may be Wing Leader, but I think we both know you're the one really running the wing."

"I had wondered about that," Ronan murmured. "The other seconds aren't nearly as busy as I am."

Harry blinked and looked at him, then he frowned as he realized he was taking advantage of Ronan. "I'm sorry. I just realized I dumped all the work on you."

"Oh, relax. I don't mind really, and it's not like I have to do everything all by myself. Karen helps with a lot of the scheduling and putting together the rosters," Ronan replied.

"I've noted you've taken her to the movies the last couple of weekends," Harry said with a grin. "She's a very pretty girl."

Karen Khan was an oriental girl that reminded Harry a little of Cho Chang. She wasn't as tall as Cho, but she was wickedly smart and loved mathematics. Harry had asked her to help Lord Mills and she took over the accounting of the Weyr from James. He still maintained the accounts and signed the checks, but Karen was the one doing most of the work on their finances.

Ronan blushed, "Yeah," he agreed with a goofy grin.

Harry chuckled. He didn't have any problems with any relationships people might form unless it impacted their duties.

"Karen told me about this issue with the dragons mating," Ronan said softly. His comment made their mood somber.

Harry dug a foot into the hard packed dirt for a moment. "It is a problem. I've told Luna that we'll no longer present a candidate younger than fifteen."

"That'll help future riders, but it doesn't do much for us," Ronan replied.

"I know, but I don't know a way around it. We didn't do this deliberately. We're all still learning what it means to be dragon riders," Harry said a bit forcefully.

Ronan nodded. "Karen doesn't really have a problem with it, except that she's thinks it would be best if the first time wasn't something imposed by our dragons. She thinks it's a little too close to rape in her opinion and I agree with her on that."

Harry looked over at him. "So what will you do?" This was something he was still puzzling over himself.

Ronan sighed. "I'm... we're not sure. The girls think their dragons will have their first mating flight in April or March. The males are supposed precede them by about a month but a few males have said they can hold off the urges until the females rise. So that's a bit of an unknown. Karen thinks its going to revolve around the females."

He blushed then, and glanced at Harry. "Karen is a very practical girl and I think she's looking at the males time of March as a cut off. I wouldn't be surprised if she decides to just get it done sometime before then."

Harry nodded, having heard similar comments. It was now an issue that everyone was aware of, but reluctant to openly talk of it. "I wish I could offer you some advice, Ronan, but I'm in the same boat. And Hermione..." He paused, frowning. "She's convinced that we can meditate through our dragon's mating flight and not allow ourselves to be influenced."

Ronan looked at him doubtfully. "Do you believe that?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

Ronan stood. "I better check on the others. It'll be time to eat soon."

"Ronan."

He turned to look at Harry. "Karen is a very pretty girl. I think you'll do well with her."

Ronan smiled briefly, then he nodded and turned away.

"_Don't let it worry you, Harry, I'm sure you'll get through this,"_ Chekiath said privately.

Harry chuckled darkly. "Yeah, maybe, or maybe Hermione will murder me."

"_I would protect you,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry smiled and leaned back against the rock, just watching the Weyr and letting his own thoughts wander where they will.

**Ministry of Magic, July 21st...**

Alejandro opened the door and walked into the office. He walked over to the desk Dumbledore used and he placed a sheet of paper down in front of the old man.

Dumbledore glanced up at his friend, then he picked up the paper and as he read, his eyes got wider and wider.

"Oh my, this will cause problems," he muttered.

"Albus?" asked Sir William.

Albus glanced up from the paper. "It seems that the Wizengamot was in the middle of a trial when things fell apart. The individual in question was convicted of being an accessory to the injury of several aurors who were attempting to arrest one Hermione Granger and her parents. The aurors were injured, one quite seriously, when dragons intervened in the arrest.

"Severus Snape was the informant that led the aurors to her home. Miss Granger herself was badly injured by the aurors when they stormed her house. Now it seems that the Wizengamot had managed to vote for a conviction on that plus other charges. But they never got around to sentencing him."

Sir William O'Hearny frowned. Any case that involved dragons, wizards and the law was going to be a major headache. "What other charges was he convicted on?"

"He was found guilty in four counts of rape," Alejandro said. "Since they involved old, noble families, there was considerable call for him to be kissed. But things started to spiral out of control and they never got back to dealing with him. We've been slowly culling the people in our holding cells, either formally charging them and shipping them off to CID holding cells or releasing them. My people discovered Snape in one of the cells."

Sir William looked down at his desk. This was typical of the issues he had been dealing with of late. "We can't send him to your prison. As it is, I'm barely keeping Her Majesty from ordering an airstrike on that place. If she had her way, she'd burn the prison down to bedrock. She's personally told me that we must find a way to destroy those dementor things. And honestly, having seen the thermal image video of the attack, I can't disagree with her."

"What would you normally do with a rapist?" asked Alejandro.

Sir William shrugged. "We have prisons for that sort of thing, Alejandro. I don't claim to be an expert on them, but I know they are not very pleasant places, but still far better than Azkaban."

Sir William looked across his desk to Alejandro. "Tell me, are you sure he's guilty?"

Croaker nodded. "Without a doubt. They used Veratiserum on him. Each of the girls involved were members of his house at school and all were aged sixteen or younger," he replied firmly.

"Fine, I'll see if I can get a magistrate from one of our closed courts to reaffirm the conviction and place him in a regular prison," William replied.

Croaker nodded in satisfaction. He didn't want to see Snape walk free. Hearing an unusual noise, he turned to see Dumbledore had turned on the computer they'd given him. Croaker sat at his desk and watched as Dumbledore struggled with the mouse for a moment. He stared at his keyboard, then bashed the keys with his index fingers. Finally, he leaned back with a broad smile, having successfully sent his second email.

"Albus?" William asked in amusement.

Dumbledore looked up. "It just occurred to me that we may have a way of getting rid of the dementors."

"Dragons," Croaker exclaimed in a breathy voice.

"William, you need to understand that in the past thousand years there has never been a single known instance of a dementor dying. But dragon fire and being taken Between are both something that the dragons can do and we know it works. My email was to Remus Lupin, asking if we could meet and discuss it. The Weyrleader would have to approve, but I think we can rely on them to help us," Albus explained.

Sir William jotted down his own thoughts on a pad, then he nodded. "It's an idea, but I am sure Her Majesty would want us to do everything to insure the dragon's safety. I will pass the idea up to her and see what she thinks."

**Campbeltown Weyr, July 23rd...**

"Thank you for seeing me this morning, Remus."

"It's no problem Albus. You're always welcome at the Weyr."

Albus frowned at the younger man. Remus seemed to be favoring one arm as if it were injured. "Have you hurt your arm?"

Remus gave the old man a weak smile. "Not exactly. Our American friends have an idea for a possible treatment for Lycanthropy. It's experimental, but when they asked if I'd be interested, I accepted. I didn't realize it at the time, but part of the treatment required shots into my arm. They didn't hurt all that much, until the next day when my arm felt like someone had hit it repeatedly with a bludger."

The old man looked shocked. "The Americans have a cure for Lycanthropy?"

Remus shook his head. "No, they have an idea that might be a cure, or lead to one. Right now, it's just a theory. Apparently, the Americans were afraid that someone would find a way of turning the werewolf curse into a weapon, so they researched possible treatments and cures."

"Amazing. I do hope it works well for you," Albus said.

Remus nodded. "Thank you. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I can't help feel a little excited by this."

A machine rumbled in the distance, then they heard a siren followed by a series of blasts. Albus looked out the window in surprise, but there was nothing to see. "How long has that been going on?"

"They started a few days ago, just after they finished installing that new fence section. Sir Robert said that the basic buildings will be easy to build once the foundations are laid. The buildings are mostly prefabricated and shipped here in pieces. Once they're up, it's just a matter of installing the equipment. He hopes to see the new power plant completed by this time next summer."

"Amazing," murmured Albus. "I'll have to ask Sir Robert if I can tour the facility when it's completed. I've never seen one before."

Remus nodded. "Nor have I," he agreed.

Albus turned back to Remus. "About that email I sent you."

Remus smiled. "Yes. I passed the idea along to Harry, but he's reluctant to directly expose the dragons. He wants to know if it were possible to seal the dementors in Azkaban?"

Dumbledore looked shocked at the idea. "I suppose we could. I don't know what Her Majesty has in mind for the prison, but I think she would prefer to see it closed down. We could relocate the prisoners, then close the doors, leaving the dementors on the inside. Then perhaps the dragons could melt the doors and rock enough to seal them in forever?"

"I don't think Harry would have any problem with that plan, but you know they're on a world tour and won't be back until sometime in the second week of August?"

"That's fine, my boy. Harry's question raises another issue which will need a royal decision, I think," Albus replied.

"_The Weyrleader hates these things even more than we do, White Beard, but I think he is right to be cautious,"_ Narth said, breaking into the conversation.

Remus looked surprised. "Narth? I didn't know you were listening in."

"_I'm sorry, Wolf, but I am still confined to the Weyr, even if the Weyrhealer lets me walk around now. I was passing your window and heard you talking about the demons. They cannot take our souls like they do with humans, but they can take away something even more important. When those foul things grabbed me, I forgot everything. Flying, Between, flaming, everything. It was the time of the beasts all over again. The Weyrleader understands, and while he wants to see those foul demons killed, but he will be cautious about it,"_ Narth replied.

"I daresay the Queen will agree with that sentiment, Narth. She will not want to see any more lives lost, human or dragon," Albus added.

"_The Lady Holder is a kindly person and a good friend to dragons. I hope the Weyrhealer will let me return soon to her hold."_

Remus and Albus exchanged an amused grin. Albus, in particular, knew the Queen could be ruthless when she wanted to.

**Condron AAF, New Mexico, USA, July 25th...**

Harry looked at the hillside that was dotted with small caverns for the dragons. This was officially Weyr number Twenty Six and it was very inadequate. They were holding up in an area that had Hermione in near hysterics. Only Harry's firm grip on what needed to be done kept him from joining her. The Weyr was officially inside the White Sands Missile testing range. In short, muggles had used the region for both regular and nuclear weapons testing for decades and she was dead set against letting any dragons remain here.

Harry couldn't argue with her, but the problem was they had no place to go. He was also expected to meet with some Americans from the Department of Magic this morning, so he couldn't take up relocating the Weyr with Ralaninth, the senior dragon, until after his meeting. And that was a problem, because they were supposed to leave after that. Harry was certain this would become another item in his list of things.

Harry smiled in reflection. This morning, Hermione had grabbed him and walked him up to the top of the hill. It was a small weyr, only one hundred and sixty three dragons, but it was also one of the most inhospitable places he had ever seen.

"Harry, I'm worried." Hermione said softly.

He looked at her, startled. "About?" he said cautiously.

She shivered and rubbed her arms absently. "This is a terrible location for a Weyr. They used to blow up bombs here that poisoned the land for decades or longer. We don't know what kind of radiation is still left, or what effect it might have on the dragons. Then there's all the conventional weapons tested here. The land is peppered with craters and chemicals from explosives. This can't be healthy for the dragons."

He was rather pleased that instead of her usual emphatic way of speaking, she was trying to calmly explain her reasoning.

She stopped when he held up his hand. "Relax, Hermione. I happen to agree with you. I can't say I know anything about radiation but there's nothing here to support riders. There isn't even a road nearby they can use to get to town."

Harry looked around. From the desolate hilltop they were unable to spot any sign that man was anywhere nearby. In his mind, a Weyr with riders needed to be isolated, but this was too much of an extreme. Harry had a vision in his mind of someday a Weyr being a place that people visited regularly. Nothing but rattlesnakes and tarantulas would want to visit this Weyr. There wasn't even a local source of fresh water. The dragons flew up into the nearby mountains for that.

He turned back to her. "I'm meeting with the Americans today. I can mention the problem to them and perhaps they can figure out a solution. I could order Ralaninth to relocate, but it's only a partial solution. Knik Glacier was in a similar boat, only instead of a desert, we were dealing with a remote glacier."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry," she said.

He grinned back at her. "Well, it wasn't that hard of an argument. We both agreed this is no place for the dragons before you had even brought the subject up. And this time, you actually talked, rather than demanded. You used to demand a lot before. I think I prefer it when you talk to me instead of down to me."

Hermione blushed. "I know," she said in nearly a whisper. "I realized that it was one of the things I had to change."

Harry leaned closer to her and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you did. I am really liking this Hermione."

"_Harry, it's nearly time for us to leave,"_ Chekiath announced.

"I know, Cheki," he replied with a sigh. He and Hermione had so little time alone these days. "Give me a moment."

"You once said I was growing up so strong," he said, pinning her with his gaze. "But we're all growing up strong. You too. Each of us are facing things that none of us expected when we were little. Things that you parents never envisioned for you. You're going to be a strong woman, Hermione, and even with that, I still see my best friend."

Hermione blushed and Harry smiled and gave a shrug, then he stepped in front of her to block the dust as Chekiath flared out to land close by.

With a wave to her, he quickly scrambled to his spot on Chekiath's shoulders, then he looked down at her and waited for her to move away. Ordinarily they didn't need to do this since Campbeltown was neatly paved, but on this trip they had learned the hard way that the dragons could kick up a lot of dust and small objects when landing and taking off.

She smiled and backed away, then Chekiath sprang aloft and vanished from view.

Harry came out of Between and grinned. Below him was Norendrath, with Sirius and Milton Standish, the American scientist who was acting as an intermediary between the Weyr and the Americans. The whole purpose of this meeting was to help the Americans start their own Weyr with riders. Sirius and Norendrath were there to offer a ride to Doctor Standish, who was on extended leave from NASA to work at the Weyr.

Next to Sirius and Doctor Standish were two other gentlemen that Harry assumed represented the American government.

Chekiath rumbled and sent a greeting to Norendrath, then he flew low over the group of men, causing them to duck before swinging around and coming in for a neat landing next to the Romanian Longhorn. Side by side, Chekiath dwarfed the other, older dragon. For an non-bonded dragon, Norendrath was very large for his breed, but compared to a bonded dragon he was tiny. Katie Bell's Kith, also a Romanian Longhorn, was nearly ten feet longer than Norendrath.

Harry lightly dropped down to the tarmac. He glanced around quickly and noted many things similar to Campbeltown. The meeting spot was called Condron Army Air Base, although it no longer looked like the army was using it anymore. It was a short distance from the town of White Sands, New Mexico.

"Harry," Sirius said with a smile. The taller man walked over and gripped his hand tightly, then he looked him over, noting the tan with approval. "It seems like your trip has been good for you."

"It's been educational," Harry admitted, then he looked at the other man. "Doctor Standish, thank you for taking the time out to help with this. I know how busy you've been of late," he said with a smile.

Standish waved a hand, dismissing Harry's appreciation. "It's of no matter, Weyrleader. If we can come to agreement here today, then I can always continue my research somewhere in the States."

Harry stepped closer and looked at the other men standing there. They had been a bit intimidated by Norendrath, but Chekiath had them in awe.

"Weyrleader, let me introduce you to Jasper Brady from the American Department of Magic and Jeffry Stafford, who represents the Department of the Interior," Standish said. "Gentlemen, Harry Potter, the Weyrleader for the dragons."

Harry shook their hands, then turned to Stafford. "Department of the Interior?"

"Among other things, we maintain and control the nation's public lands," said Stafford smugly. "Right now, we understand that the dragons are using public lands. I'm here to insure that the land isn't being spoiled by their use."

Harry frowned, then glanced at Sirius, who looked equally puzzled. The man's attitude seemed out of place for a country that was asking the dragons for a favor. "Mr. Stafford, the dragons have been sitting in their locations for more than one hundred years. And in one case, the Weyr predates your country's formation. Perhaps it is you who are occupying and spoiling their land?"

Stafford started and looked like he had been slapped. Sirius laughed in that strange bark-like laugh of his and Harry grinned at him.

"Gentlemen, let me make our position painfully clear. Dragons are a thinking, intelligent, sapient species. Consider them to be funny looking humans if you want. We aren't here looking for a handout. We're here to see if your country is interested in reducing your oil dependency by as much as a third. Given that, there are certain things we need to agree on."

The figure had been supplied to Harry by Mildred O'Connor, who wanted Harry to understand just how valuable a resource they were sitting on.

"Wait, wait, wait," Brady said quickly, then he turned on Stafford. "I told you to drop the arrogant bit. The President himself has authorized this and tasked me to see it happen."

Brady turned to Harry with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Weyrleader. My esteemed colleague got us off on the wrong foot. How about we retire inside where it's cooler and we can talk more comfortably."

Harry nodded. He glanced over to Cheki.

"_Don't worry, Harry, I'll listen in and let you know what I think,"_ the large dragon said, allowing everyone to hear him.

Sirius and Standish grinned as the other two American's paled and stared at the large dragon in shock.

Standish walked over to the small building and opened the door. The other two Americans shook from their shock and followed behind him.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he entered. The building was air conditioned and very cool. Even the mornings in the bright, New Mexico sun were enough to make him sweat buckets. The conditions at the Weyr were so bad, he had changed their itinerary and had told Ronan to take the Riders to Aogashima Weyr if he wasn't back by eleven.

The tropical climate would be hot, but there would be plenty of swimming to compensate for the heat. Ronan grinned at that idea, no doubt spurred on by visions of Karen in her bikini.

Sitting down at the table, Harry helped himself to a cold soft drink from the pile of drinks and snacks and he looked at Brady, who seemed to be in charge of the meeting. Stafford had been smacked down by someone in a superior position and seemed reluctant to speak again.

"Weyrleader," Brady said softly, "the President has looked over your conditions for starting a Weyr on U.S. soil and he has no real problems with them, but one aspect does concern him. He feels that fifteen might be too young, given the fact that the dragons rising to mate will force sexual maturity on the riders, as well. I think he would prefer going with sixteen or seventeen year old candidates."

Harry looked up from his drink. "Sir, I am open to suggestions. We have a limited window of ages for acceptable riders and I've already cut that window by two years. Our ability to scout out new candidate riders is limited at the moment. However, I will suggest that if we can find enough candidates, then record those who are underage and wait for them to become old enough. If we can't find enough candidates, we may have to take what we have. We searched nearly a dozen schools and military bases and we managed to scrape up thirty candidates out of nearly two thousand students."

"The Weyrleader is right," Standish said, "I've looked at the numbers. The possible candidates in our population would be low, less than one percent. We may end up having to accept what we can find in the allotted time frame."

Harry nodded. "It's more than just finding someone who's acceptable, Mr. Brady. The dragons need a few days to monitor each potential candidate to see if they are suitable. We had one potential candidate who turned out to be stalking some of the girls in his class. Imagine what would happen if you ended up with someone like that as a dragon rider, or worse. I can confine the person to the Weyr and order his dragon not to take him anywhere, but we are faced with a fundamental problem."

Brady watched Harry with interest and he motioned for him to continue.

Harry took a sip of his drink and gathered his thoughts. "Imagine a married couple. At some point, the husband commits a crime and is thrown into jail for it. Now imagine his wife having the ability to burn down the jail, setting the very stone on fire, then grabbing her husband and jumping to any point on the planet in an instant. All this because the couple are so committed to each other that if one of them dies, so will the other."

Harry paused and looked around the room. "Think about that and you'll understand why the dragons want to carefully check any potential candidate. The dragons want riders back, but they want riders with integrity, honesty and intelligence. They want people who are the very best they can find. I think the fifteen year old limit is about the best we can do. If you manage to come up with forty candidates at age seventeen, great, but don't limit yourselves too early."

"I didn't realize that finding candidates would be so difficult," Brady mused.

"It can be very difficult," Harry replied. "In a few cases, it has taken dragons three days of watching someone before they agreed to allow him to be presented as a candidate, and even that approach isn't perfect," Harry replied. "I don't expect my riders to be saints. They're human like everyone else and make mistakes as we all do. But punishing a rider for an infraction is a delicate balance between punishing the rider and harming his or her dragon, who is an innocent bystander. And that is why finding candidates is not an easy or quick process."

Harry paused and took another sip of his drink. "We currently have eight riders allocated to searching for candidates. Each rider will lead a group of up to twenty non-bonded dragons to visit schools and places where teenagers congregate. Next year, if plans proceed properly, we will have three Weyrs contributing to the search, making it that much easier. But we do have one very big problem here in the States."

Brady looked up from some notes he was jotting down. "Problem? What kind of problem?"

Harry leaned back in his chair. "There are two kinds of Weyrs, gentlemen. One that can support dragons and one that can support both dragons and people. Here in the States, you have three Weyrs. One in Alaska that's too remote to support a human population, one not far from Mount Hood in Washington that's designated as a national forest, and one nearby in the White Sands testing range. The Mount Hood Weyr isn't that remote. Facilities could be built to support a Weyr, including housing and other buildings."

Harry frowned as he continued. "I am probably going to have to abandon the White Sands Weyr. The dragons are too exposed there and it's not really suitable for human habitation without considerable effort. There's also the significant danger of radiation and chemicals left over from the testing there."

Stafford looked at Harry incredulously. "Like they would just abandon their home on your say so? You? You're just a boy!" he scoffed.

"_Harry is the Weyrleader. When he speaks, no dragon will disobey him. When he needed help to save the Lady Holder of Britain, every Weyr in the world came to his aid,"_ exclaimed Chekiath angrily.

"Over seven thousand dragons participated in the defense of Balmoral Castle," Standish said softly. "When you factor in the fifteen hundred dragons already involved in the fight at Gringault, you have the bulk of the world wide population of dragons."

"_Ralaninth would move his dragons if Harry said so,"_ Chekiath added.

Hot, tired and with more problems than solutions, Harry stared at Stafford for several moments, then leaned forward. "Would you like to test that?" he said softly, his eyes pinning the other man. "I will not work with arrogant, belligerent, short sighted people. They are a danger to my dragons and that is something I will not allow. Perhaps I should be thinking of moving all three American Weyrs to Mexico and leave you Yanks to buy your oil. You may not like me, you may not like the dragons, but moderate your tone, Mr. Stafford, or you can explain to your President why there are, and never will be, dragons anywhere in America. _Ever_!"

"Stafford, shut your mouth," snapped Brady, then he turned to Harry. "Weyrleader, I apologize for my associate's behavior. I can assure you that I will be reporting his behavior to his superiors."

Harry nodded curtly. He understood that Stafford, for whatever reason, wasn't interested in helping dragons, while Brady had orders that were clearly in favor of the dragons. It was an interesting concept to him. It was the first time he had encountered someone who was an obstructionist just for the sake of it and it reminded him that dragons would not be so universally well received as they were in Britain or in the United States.

"I see your problem Weyrleader, but I'm not sure what we can do," Brady said a bit helplessly. Harry was disappointed by that comment.

"Why can't we do like the British did?" asked Standish. "They ceded an old, unused airbase to the dragons."

Brady looked surprised, then he nodded and quickly scribbled a note. "Yes, I do think something could be arranged. In fact, this is an old air base with a limited commercial use. We could claim to need to reactivate the field."

"Mr. Brady, would you mind coordinating your efforts with Doctor Standish? The quicker we can move the White Sands Weyr the better I'd feel. If all goes well, you could have riders in place in your own Weyr by the end of the year.

"Campbeltown would still be the central clearing house for the SDTS and for any scientific research, but I'm willing to let Doctor Standish head up that effort on the American side, as long as we agree that you'll share information with the British and the Weyr," Harry said.

Standish looked at Harry in shock. He was basically setting up the possibility of a secondary research group under him! That was something beyond his wildest dreams. Even with his twenty years at NASA, he never thought he'd be able to lead such a group. Sir Robert's group consisted of over one hundred scientists and engineers, and here was Harry, offering him a similar deal. "Thank you, Weyrleader," he said, clearly stunned.

Harry smiled at him. "Doctor, you've been straight with us and honesty is something I value. You leading the effort on this side of the ocean makes sense, and I know there won't be any personality clashes between you and Sir Robert."

Standish smiled and gave Harry a nod. He knew the Weyrleader was on a tight schedule. "I think we can take it from here, Weyrleader," he said.

Harry glanced at Sirius, who nodded to him. Sirius knew what Harry wanted and he could always use Norendrath to contact him if he needed a point clarified.

Harry stood and offered his hand to Brady. "I'm sorry to run, but our inspection tour can't be put off."

"I understand, Weyrleader. I look forward to seeing you again in the near future. Perhaps when we find a place for your dragons?" he said hopefully.

Harry smiled. "That I can guarantee, Mr. Brady. It'll be a lot easier for the dragons if we help them move to a new location."

Brady nodded and Harry turned and left the room.

Once the Weyrleader had left, Brady's expression hardened and he glared at Stafford, who shrank back from him. "You just obliterated your career," he snarled.

Sirius didn't bother to hide his look of satisfaction, or his smirk.

**Aogashima Weyr, Weyr #31, July 25th...**

Harry and Chekiath emerged from Between high enough to take in the enormous bowl below them. This was a small island with a mostly Japanese population in the Philippine Sea, and it was one of the most beautiful spots Harry had ever seen.

"Draco was right," he murmured. "Look at it, Cheki, it's gorgeous!"

The bowl was heavily forested and there were signs of farms along some of the interior slopes. From his vantage point he could see other islands in the distance and he wondered if they were as inviting as the one below him. He knew from Draco's survey that several of the other islands were wizard protected and contained livestock herds that this Weyr occasionally pilfered from.

Harry nudged Cheki slightly with his knee and Chekiath entered into a gentle bank, letting Harry take in more of the island below. It was clear from the vegetation that this volcano hadn't been active in many years.

There was a small heliport and town at the northern end of the island and what appeared to be a port or industrial complex at the southern tip. From what Draco had told him, the Weyr was on the outward facing east slope of the volcano.

Chekiath hit a thermal and he locked his wings, letting the pair soar several thousand feet over the island.

"_Harry, why was that man so angry?"_ asked Chekiath.

"You mean Stafford?"

"_Yes. He had unhappy thoughts while dealing with you. I wish we could see and hear normal people better, but I could tell he was unhappy. He wanted to be angry with you. He seemed frightened of you and I don't know why,"_ Chekiath replied.

Harry sighed. Dragons were excellent at determining the emotional state and stability of a person, and had the ability to skim the minds of individuals, but it wasn't true mind reading like Legilimency. What they could pick up had to be thoughts that were highly emotional to the person. "Do you remember that soldier who worked for Katherine? The one she sent away after he called Lee Jordan a bunch of nasty names?"

"_I didn't understand that. He was mean to Lee for no reason. Soranth was really angry at him for hurting Lee. I like Lee."_

It was a case of pure bigotry. A member of the guard force seemed to take offense with the fact that Lee and Mariah seemed to be getting close. The man had made his opinions publicly known in the Kitchen Hall and Katherine had jumped all over him for it. The end result was she had forced the man to apologize, then had him transferred to another unit.

Harry blinked in surprise. He hadn't realized that the man's hateful comments had hurt Lee and he made a mental note to talk to him about it. "The man hated Lee just because of the color of his skin. It's a silly reason to hate, but some people hate just for the sake of hating and will do so for the silliest of reasons."

"_It isn't right,"_ exclaimed Chekiath.

Harry chuckled. "No, it isn't, mate, but it is the way of things. I think in a way Stafford did me a favor, despite his shitty attitude."

"_What did he do besides make us angry?"_ Chekiath asked in confusion.

Harry gently rubbed his hand against Chekiath's neck affectionately. "He reminded me that there will always be people who don't like us for many, many reasons. We've been very lucky and we found a bunch of people we can call friends. But that won't always be the case. I need to remind myself that there is always a chance that the next person I meet could be someone like Lord Mills, or someone like Stafford."

"_It's hard!"_

Harry blinked and smiled to himself. "Sometimes it is. But you didn't do anything wrong, Cheki. If you hadn't stomped on him first, I would have. I want you to remember that we're a team. We're a family and I'm never going to yell at you for defending me, or any other dragon or rider. You are my dragon, and you command our Weyr just as much as I do."

"_So you're not mad at me?"_ asked Chekiath.

Harry smiled and thumped Cheki affectionately. "Not in the least. Although I do wish you'd find another joke other than your farts."

"_But farts are funny!"_ protested Chekiath as he started to spiral in to the Weyr below.

Harry could see his riders and the others gathering to meet him and he smiled. Ronan wasn't the only one hoping to see some girls in bikinis. "Yeah, they are at that mate," Harry admitted.

Hermione stood next to May, looking skyward. Even several thousand feet up, Chekiath's form was unmistakable.

"What are they doing up there?" asked May.

"_Thinking about hard stuff,"_ Trath replied. _"The Weyrleader and Chekiath are discussing important things. Chekiath says the Weyrleader is thinking very hard about stuff for us. The Weyrleader is explaining to Chekiath that he expects him to look out for all of us like he does."_

"_Chekiath is finally taking his place as the lead dragon,"_ Comaloth announced. _"I think I'll let him catch me on my first egg flight."_

"_Me, too,"_ Trath said, her eyes whirling calmly.

Both girls blushed at the comments made by their dragons. They tried to ignore the comments made by other dragons, but the intention was clear. A number of the female dragons wanted Chekiath to cover them at least once.

"So, Chekiath is assuming the role of alpha male," May murmured.

"Was there any doubt about that?" asked Hermione. "Even with his growth rate slowing, he's enormous. And Harry. He might be shy and clueless around girls, but he's definitely the alpha rider. I thought he was just minutes away from hitting Chapman when we came home from the battle. You weren't there to see it, but Harry got right into his face. I think it was then that I really realized that Chapman might be taller than Harry, but have you seen Harry's shoulders? He's all muscle."

"Yes, he is very tasty," Luna said, stepping closer to the two girls. She ignored the dark looked they shot at her. "Harry's developed a lot of upper body strength, thanks to his climbing up and down on Chekiath. I don't fly as often as he does and I've still grown a full cup size." Luna frowned. "I'm not sure I like having muscles in that area," she admitted. Privately all of the girls agreed with her, but there wasn't anyway around it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

- Sorry, but the first chapter rarely gives us any opportunity to mock anyone.

- We are aware of the petition going around and the reasons for it. We choose not to participate in said petition and request that you refrain from wasting space in reviews, or sending pms about said petition. We write stories for adults that have a good enough imagination that they don't need us to provide explicit scenes. Your imagination is better than any imagery we can provide with our mere words. Besides, we know explicit scenes are against the TOS and have never written any lemons.

We live in a free society where you can exercise your right to protest and we can exercise our right to continue writing. Please respect that.

- If you have reached this point and haven't a clue what is going on, then you probably missed the first part of this story, entitled the Queen Who Fell to Earth. It's your call, you can go back and read that so that you can understand what is happening or you can remain ignorant and ignore the fact that the guy in the cubicle behind you isn't wearing any pants.

- If you have reached this point and are totally lost, but you did read the previous story. Here's a brief recap. Harry, Dragons, Boom! Muggles, more dragons, Goblins, more booms! Naked Donut Delivery girls! (just kidding, we only had naked pizza delivery girls in the last tale.) Hopefully it will all make sense now, if not, go back and reread it.

- Given the scope of this tale it is likely that this will be longer than The Queen Who Fell to Earth. Therefore we will **update on a two week cycle** rather than the one week cycle we used for QWF.

- A couple of things to note. Whenever possible we are using real people, especially politicians and celebrities. This means that we are taking a big liberty with using said people and it is doubtful they would act as we portray them. But then, we are portraying politicians in a kinder light than reality. Everyone knows that politicians don't really give a damn about the little people.

In any event, yes we know Joe Blow wouldn't do that, but he does in our story because we say he does and as the authors we're right and you're wrong even if you agree with us.

- Ships. Ships have been decided already. Your desires are not of any importance. You are currently reading chapter one, while I am currently writing chapter eleven. Any ship you want to see, or suggestion you want to make is futile. The ship has sunk, the plot has moved on. We don't ask for suggestions from the readers. And for the guy that keeps asking to see Harry transfigured into a gorilla and have him grab Hermione and swing away on a vine. Seek help. Immediately.

- Contrary to the advice of the folks who run this website, we will never allow for anonymous reviews. If you have something to say, do so with a signed account or be silent.

- If you're bored, try reading some of our other stories. Just one comment, our really old stuff was written as our first forays into fan fiction and at a time when a lot of what we wrote hadn't reached the point of being cliché. Now days we can't read them without cringing. They do show one thing however, we have never been content to just follow canon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Alyx thrust a sheet under Bob's nose. "Tell me what you think!" she demanded.

Bob cautiously picked up the paper and looked at it. "Snape cried in anguish as Draco, the handsome king of Slobnovia wailed in pain. The dastardly Harry Potter, had just sliced off King Draco's who who, and then fled by leaping from the window to catch the landing strut of a nearby helicopter."

Bob sighed and put down the paper. "Are we back with this who who business again? I thought we covered this two weeks ago."

"Will you concentrate on the task and stop obsessing about Draco's who who!" Alyx screeched.

Bob blinked. "I'm obsessing about Draco's who who? I'm not the one writing the epic of Draco's search for a replacement who who. All I did was ask you to write a simple disclaimer telling people that we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragonriders of Pern and you give me stories about Draco's who who!"

"You just don't appreciate fine literature. I should know better than ask for your opinion. If the story doesn't have bouncing baazoomers you're not interested!"

"Baazoomers? You mean Boobies?"

"Shhhhh!" exclaimed Alyx. "You remember the penis police. If you're not careful you'll bring down the boobie busters. And unlike you, those people scare me!"

Bob stared at her for a moment, then sunk his head into his hands. "The hoops I have to jump through to get a disclaimer! Last week we learned we can't say penis, this week boobies!"

He looked up at her. "You can't market your steam powered adult toys using a story! It's against the TOS!"

Alyx waved off his complaint. "It'll be great, once Draco learns about my steam powered who who replacement with attachments, why Snape will have a permanent smile on his face."

"Of course he will, the undertaker will make the body smile if you ask him," Bob muttered, then he looked at the audience. "Steam powered adult toys are dangerous!" he hissed.

Alyx glared at him. "Just start the chapter while I work on my story!" she snapped.

Bob reached down and flipped the switch to start the story, then he smirked at Draco sitting in the front row. He was cradling his crotch protectively and praying they wouldn't use him for real in a disclaimer.

* * *

**A person that never made a mistake never tried anything new.  
- Albert Einstein**

**Campbeltown Weyr, July 26th...**

Mildred and Issac walked slowly next to Remus. He been given the last set of rabies shots a week ago and was seeing Issac every day to monitor his progress. Remus had managed to contact a number of other werewolves and they would be starting the treatment program next month after they had undergone a complete physical by Issac.

At first there was some concern about the cost of participating in the experiment, but word came by dragon from Harry stating that the Weyr would pick up the cost to treat Remus and any other Werewolf he convinced to participate. Once that hurdle was out of the way, Issac pulled Remus in for a complete physical.

Sirius had insisted that Harry be told of the experiment, but Remus put his foot down. He didn't want to raise any false hope for Harry. Remus clearly remembered how disappointed Harry had been when they learned about the rabies and he didn't want him to feel that way again.

The pair had argued about it until Issac mentioned the costs involved, then Remus realized that Harry would have to be told about it since the tests would be run at the Weyr and probably funded by the Weyr. As far as Harry knew, it was an experiment that was supposed to ease his transformation, nothing more.

One of the more interesting things about the disease was the fact that when not undergoing the transformation, Lycanthropy sufferers were actually in better shape than non-infected people.

Since this was the first time taking the mix of drugs and potion, they were taking no chances. Remus would take the potion that suppressed the transformation and lock himself into the bomb shelter. Mildred and Issac would stay outside and talk with Remus. Issac had a long questionnaire that had been sent to him from America with questions that were designed to stimulate his cognitive abilities and measure any loss of intelligence.

"Issac, I'm curious about something," Mildred suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"What's that?" he replied.

"Rabies. If a rabid animal bites me, I catch the disease. But there are cases of non-wizard humans who've become werewolves. How?" she asked.

Issac nodded. "The short answer is, we don't know. But I'm willing to offer a theory, if you're interested."

Remus watched as Mildred nodded enthusiastically. She was even more interested in the disease than he was!

Issac glanced down at his watch and saw that he had time. "There is a very minor deviation in the DNA between standard rabies and what Remus has. Less than one percent, in fact. I think that at some point a rabid animal bit a wizard and the virus mutated slightly, thanks to the magic. That wizard then passed the mutation to his victims, who passed it on to their victims and so on.

"What we have is essentially two different forms of rabies. Normal rabies and magical rabies. Unfortunately, this is pure speculation on my part. It's not like we can infect people with the disease to see if it'll mutate. We think that the two strains are so closely related that the regular vaccine will work, although I do know the Yanks are working on creating a vaccine from the magical version. That might even be a second round of treatment tests."

"I don't claim to be much of a biologist," Mildred replied, "but your idea sounds plausible."

Issac smiled then he reached into the canvas bag he was carrying and he pulled out a small glass flask. "The Yanks were kind enough to provide us with the recipe for this so we'll be able to make our own. Even if the drugs don't work, we'll still have the suppression potion."

Remus took the flask with hands that trembled slightly. Mildred gave Issac a pointed look and he nodded. "I'll just walk around for a bit. We still have some time."

Remus looked at him in surprise, but Mildred smiled gratefully.

She waited until Issac was walking away, then she turned and focused on Remus. "Are you all right?" she asked softly. She placed a hand on his and his tremor eased slightly.

He looked down. "Honestly, no. I've lived nearly my entire life with this and I've hated every second of it," he said, looking up at her. "Now I'm trying very hard to not get my hopes up. I'm not scared it won't work because it can't make anything worse than it is. But what if it works? I don't remember not being a werewolf."

"You're a very strong man, Remus. I have no doubt that you'd adapt to any new situation," she replied.

He looked at her closely for a moment. "Maybe, but it scares me too," he admitted, then he looked down as if ashamed of himself.

Mildred shocked herself by stepping forward and pulling him into a gentle hug. The pair were still trying to figure out what kind of relationship they could have, so this was new to both of them. Despite his surprise, he clung to her for a moment before stepping back and giving her a weak smile.

"Have some faith, Remus. I think this will work," she said fervently, then she leaned in and kissed him gently. He kissed her back and for a brief moment there was no Lycanthropy, no approaching full moon, just the two of them standing on a taxiway near a thirty year old bomb shelter.

The pair broke apart and smiled at each other. It was their first real kiss and both wanted to repeat the experience.

"Ahem."

The pair looked over to see Issac standing nearby. "I hate to interrupt this moment, but time is pressing on and I still need to do a few things."

Remus nodded and he conjured chairs for all three of them, then he took a chair for himself and rolled up his sleeve. Issac stepped forward and took two vials of blood from him, then he checked his heart and lungs, recording notes on a clipboard.

"Before you take the potion and enter the shelter, do you have any observations you'd like to share thus far?" asked Issac.

Remus paused and shook his head. "No, I don't think..."

"Wait, there is one," Mildred said, interrupting him.

Issac and Remus turned to her in surprise. "Normally, he's very irritable by now. I have only seen him go through this once before this, of course, but he's not as irritable as the last time."

Remus leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtful. "It hadn't occurred to me, but she's right. Normally at this point everything is making me angry."

Issac nodded and wrote something down on his clipboard, then he glanced at his watch. "I'm sorry to do this, Remus."

Remus shook his head and smiled. "I'm used to it, Issac."

"If the suppression potion works like it should you won't need to do it next time," Mildred said hopefully.

Remus opened the top of the flask and quickly drank the concoction. "Ugh, that's some bad tasting stuff," he complained. He handed the empty flask back to Issac, then stood and walked over to the shelter. He easily one handed the heavy steel door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The large wheel on the door spun, sealing it, then Issac stepped up and chained the wheel so it couldn't be opened from the inside.

"This is downright barbaric," Mildred said angrily. "Locking him up like he's a wild animal."

Issac nodded. "It is, but it's an undeniable fact that without Wolfsbane potion or locking themselves up, a werewolf is a danger to everyone around them."

"He is the gentlest man I have ever met," she protested.

"Mildred, there are plenty of diseases where we quarantine people. Plague, Typhus, Ebola, Legionnaires Disease, Lhassa fever to name just a few. Granted none of them make the victim want to go out and infect others by biting them, but we still lock them up while we treat them. Remus has a disease that destroys his mind during the full moon. Wolfsbane helps him keep his mind but it doesn't stop the transformation. If it works, this new potion will. If he retains his form then he'll never have to lock himself up again. I know this seems cold and cruel, but it's a small price to pay and the possible payoff is immense.

"I wish we could have given him Wolfsbane, but the protocol wouldn't allow for it."

She nodded unhappily.

Several dragons landed nearby and approached the bunker. _"We're here to help Wolf,"_ announced Momnarth.

Mildred nodded and then glanced to Sheppard, who shrugged. He hadn't had much exposure to the dragons yet. "We're trying something new this time," Mildred said. "If it goes well, Remus may have a very easy time of it tonight."

Momnarth moved so she could crane her long neck and large head to look at the chained door. _"Some kind of medicine?"_

Thanks to Hagrid and May, medicine wasn't an unknown concept to them.

"That's right, it's a new kind of medicine," Sheppard said. "We aren't sure if it will work, but we're hopeful."

Momnarth's eyes twirled and glowed with streaks of green and yellow in the darkening evening. _"We will wait with you. Wolf is important,"_ she declared.

Mildred nodded fervently, in full agreement with that sentiment.

Issac had a small lantern which he used to illuminate the area around them. Although he was a wizard, he relied on technology for many mundane tasks. He sat on one of the chairs that Remus had conjured and scribbled notes down on his clipboard for nearly ten minutes, then he checked his watch. The moon had finally cleared the horizon. He turned to the door and flipped a switch on a newly installed box on the door. It was an intercom to the interior of the bomb shelter. "Remus, moon rise was just a few minutes ago. Can you talk to us?"

"It's strange," said a voice from the small box. "All day long I should have been jittery and very angry. I was surprised when Mildred said I wasn't. I have changed every month for so long that it feels strange to sit here knowing the moon has risen and I'm still myself. For a moment I felt the heat build up like it normally does just before I change. It feels like you're running a very high fever that comes on in a flash. The heat started and then just faded away."

"Just remember, you have five more months of this treatment to do, then we'll see where you stand," Issac said in warning, then he scribbled notes about Remus' comments concerning the heat. He was working on a ground breaking experimental treatment and intended to be as thorough as possible.

"I remember," Remus replied. Issac had explained the protocol in exacting detail. Weekly blood tests for the next six months, then after the treatment stopped, blood tests just prior to every full moon for a year. And while the medical tests were bad enough, according to Issac, there were enough questionnaires to fill a small office.

Some of those questionnaires were deeply personal, Remus thought, and he wasn't looking forward to filling them out. He had to remind himself that, if this worked, he would be helping werewolves everywhere, so the asking of personal questions on an impersonal form was a small price to pay.

Issac held out his hand and Mildred passed him another clipboard. On it was a series of questions for him that he would repeat every hour.

"Remus, I'm going to ask you a series of questions now. These questions are basic, but are designed to stimulate your cognitive functions and allow us to judge if you're suffering from any impairment. I know this is going to be rather boring, but we have eight hours ahead of us to do this."

"I'm ready," Remus replied sounding rather upbeat about everything.

**Sakushima Island Weyr, Weyr #32, Japan, July 31st...**

Harry stepped out of the tent and stretched. The small beds inside these tents were comfortable, but they just weren't the bed he was used to using. He breathed a sigh of relief as several small pops came from his spine.

After spending the day resting at Aogashima Weyr, they returned back to Central and South America before hopping directly to New Zealand. Strangely, there were few former reserves in the Pacific. New Zealand and Australia each had one, while Japan had two.

"_Good morning, Harry,"_ said Chekiath, looking up from where he lay on beach.

"_Good morning, mate. Did you sleep well?"_

"_It is a little noisy here at night,"_ Chekiath replied. _"So many ships blowing their horns."_

Harry looked out over the bay. Even now it bustled with cargo ships and small fishing boats. _"Yeah, I guess that would be true."_

"_Today is your hatching day,"_ Chekiath announced brightly. _"Dragons don't pay much attention to it, but I know humans like to celebrate such days."_

Harry frowned. "I don't know, Cheki. I never paid much attention to it. Even after I went to Hogwarts, it was just another day of chores for me," Harry replied, slipping into normal speech.

"Good morning, Harry," Luna said as she stepped from the girl's tent. She also stretched, then walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday. I wish I had known sooner, but we only found out last night when Dobby asked us how to spell 'fifteen'." She giggled lightly. "Poor little guy had three Es too many."

Harry blushed at the kiss. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"I couldn't help hearing what you said to Chekiath. Your family never celebrated your birthday?"

He looked down and shook his head. "My relatives never cared about my birthday except to tell me about the extra chores they wanted me to do that day," he replied.

Luna nodded. "We never really celebrated my birthday after mum died. Daddy tried, but wasn't the same. It didn't help that Daddy couldn't cook at all. The first time he asked me to bake my own birthday cake we decided to stop celebrating it."

"I'm sorry," Harry said hurriedly.

She turned and eyed him. "It wasn't your fault, so there's no reason for you to be sorry. Losing Mum took a lot of fun out of life. Becoming Trandieth's rider and being a part of the Weyr put a lot of that fun back. I still miss Mum, but it doesn't hurt as badly anymore. Perhaps it would still hurt if I were still at Hogwarts."

She placed a hand on his arm. "You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for, Harry. The dragons know it and so do your riders. I know it embarrasses you when you hear this, but just think for a moment that maybe we can see you better than you see yourself."

She patted his arm and started to walk away. "Don't plan on skipping breakfast. Dobby made a cake and the rest of the riders would like to wish you a happy birthday. I will suggest that you don't drink the stuff Ronan bought as a gift. He wanted to get you something Japanese."

She paused and looked perplexed. "He says it's a bottle of whale milk, but for the life of me I can't see how you can milk a whale in the water. I made a note in my diary to see if I could find a spell for that, just in case we need it some day."

She smiled at his confused expression, then turned away.

Harry stared at the strange blond as she walked away and could only shake his head.

**#10 Downing Street, London, August 1st...**

"Sir, Lord Kennewick is here for his ten o'clock appointment."

"Send him in please, then hold my calls," John Major said.

The door opened and Major looked up with a broad grin. "Cyril! You look great. I told you a week off would do you some good."

Lord Kennewick placed his briefcase down on the coffee table and smiled. "Dorothy made me relax mostly," he replied with a chuckle. "She wouldn't even let me see a newspaper."

"So you're back now and raring to go?"

Kennewick nodded and pulled out two files, one of which he passed to the Prime Minister. "Starting on the home front, I think it's safe to say we have our magical crisis past us now. We are currently in control of the Ministry of Magic.

"Normally, this would be Sir William O'Hearny's brief, so suffice to say I'm confident that things are settling down. We leaned pretty hard on the pure wizard media outlets and nothing gets published or broadcast without Sir William's say so. I think it's safe to say that any chance of an organized resistance forming at this point is slim, but my people are keeping their eyes open.

"We currently have two brigades of infantry and one armored brigade in reserve in case we have to deploy them against the wizards. My analysts are confident that they won't be needed and I think that by the end of this month we'll be able to reduce that down to one infantry brigade and perhaps a single tank company.

"The Yanks have sent over their team and we're working on trying to figure out which nations are in trouble. On that front, we have good and bad news."

Kennewick paused and Major leaned back in his chair. "All right, let's hear it."

"We are reasonably certain that all of the Commonwealth nations are firmly in control of their own governments. However, a fair number of them are running like the Yanks were, meaning their governments really have no clue what the wizards are up to.

"Canada, Australia and New Zealand have all started looking for disaffected wizards they can co-opt into service to help them. Germany and France have been building a force similar to the WDF, but they have the approval of their mundane governments. Presumably this is in response to the forces being assembled by Spain, Italy and Greece.

"Greece and Italy are currently waging a wizard war and we believe the mundane governments are under the control of the wizards. Spain has assembled a large force, but we can't really tell who's in charge there.

"Around the world, it's a mixed bag. Japan looks clear, as do China and South Korea. Russia is suspect. As to the middle east, Africa or South America, who knows? We're lucky to have figured out what little we do know. The inter-agency group has only been working for a couple weeks."

Major frowned. Some of the countries were part of the nuclear fraternity and that terrified him. From what he could see, the wizards who had grown up in their culture had no concept of modern weapons and their terrible power. He shuddered to think of what Russia might do with their nukes if wizards were pulling the strings.

"How firm are your estimates, Cyril? Can I approach Chancellor Kohl or will I endanger an ally? Or President Mitterand?"

Kennewick frowned. "Sir, these are estimates. Even if we have a high degree of confidence we could be wrong. If possible I think we should try to confirm the government status from the magical side. Maybe we can find some wizards who can find out what the state of the German Magical Ministry is first?"

Major looked intrigued and he leaned forward to jot down a reminder to talk with Sir William about it. "Very good, Have your group keep plugging away at this, Cyril. It's really important."

Kennewick nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, sir, one rather strange thing, in fact," Kennewick replied.

"Oh?"

"It seems our Russian friends launched an abbreviated spy satellite last week. This is the first launch of a Cosmos since 1994, when they discontinued them because they couldn't afford any more Soyuz launch vehicles. My analysts tell me that this particular bird was up for only a day and in a much lower orbit, which the analysts think means the Russian used an ICBM booster as a launch platform," Kennewick said unhappily. "We had relaxed our anti-satellite measures since they hadn't launched in two years. As a result, they overflew us several times, catching one American ballistic missile sub and two attack submarines in the open at Holy Loch."

Major frowned and leaned over his desk towards Kennewick. "What do the Americans say about all this?"

"They're as puzzled as we are, but have gone back to using their anti-satellite measures. Also, North American Space Command has been tasked to pay particular attention to Baikonur and Plesetsk, in case this signals a new round of spy satellites. They are puzzled by the short duration of the satellite. Normally, a Cosmos satellite has a life span of fifteen days, but perhaps they are doing this on a real tight budget."

It never occurred to either man that the overflights also included Campbeltown Weyr. The dragons wouldn't show up on the cameras, that had already been verified by the Americans, but the increased activity and construction would stand out like a sore thumb.

"It's strange," Major said softly. "I wonder what they are up to?" He sighed, then flipped to the next page in the file. "Troop cuts," he noted unhappily.

"Yes, sir. The budget this year was still short of our determined needs," admitted Kennewick.

"Very well, Cyril. Let's go over it first, then we'll see if there are any ways we can get creative," Major said heavily. Cutting the military with the world scene so confused was a bad idea at this time.

**Maziang Tibet, August 10th...**

They were late by a few days, but after visiting every Weyr Harry decided they needed a few days of pure rest and relaxation. Their trip had taken them around the world and they had worked very hard looking over every weyr, talking to the dragons and trying to get a feel for their needs. Rather than picking a Weyr and just spending a few extra days there, Harry had opted for a place they had overflown that had a crystal clear mountain lake, cool nights and bright sunny days in the Canadian Rockies.

Harry and the riders spent the time relaxing and enjoying themselves. The dragons didn't mind. There was a lake large enough for all of them to soak in, and there were some large herds of elk nearby that meant they didn't have to jump back to Campbeltown to feed.

Harry had sent a message to Lobsang, via Dobby, telling them they would arrive today. Now, rested from their days at the lake, they appeared overhead at Maziang. The dragons assembled below reared up on their haunches and trumpeted a welcome. Not far from where the dragons were, the entire village of Maziang was also assembled. Nearby, a bell began to toll and the villagers waved wildly.

The village was close to the original reserve on a small plateau, which also contained a small lake. From his vantage point on Chekiath, Harry could see the single road that wound steeply down the mountainside to a valley far below the village and weyr.

Harry shot a grin to Ronan and he directed Chekiath to land not far from the villagers.

"_They are very happy to see us,"_ Chekiath observed.

"I think its because we represent what they can have, Cheki," Harry replied.

Chekiath flared out and gently dropped the last foot to the ground. Harry nodded to Lobsang, who stood next to Master Jangbu. Lobsang was speaking rapidly in his language to Jangbu, who was nodding.

Harry waited until all of his riders were down, then he dropped lightly to the ground. He walked up to Lobsang, who carefully led Master Jangbu forward. The old man carefully stuck out his hand in Harry's direction and Harry reached for it.

"Welcome to Maziang Weyr, Weyrleader," Jangbu said in very broken English.

Harry broke into a wide smile and he shook the old man's hand. "We are honored to be here, Master Jangbu."

Lobsang stepped forward to translate, but Nokrenth stepped forward. The old man tilted his head and then he gave a toothy grin.

"_My dragons and I will help with the language difficulty, Weyrleader. It wasn't until I went to Campbeltown that I realized people speak in many different languages,"_ Nokrenth said.

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Nokrenth. I am sure we'll need your help, now and at the hatching."

Harry turned and offered his hand to Lobsang and the boy looked at him in awe for a moment before gratefully grasping his hand.

"Honored Weyrleader, welcome to Maziang," he said, then he gestured and the villagers all bowed, causing Harry to blush. "Tonight, honored Weyrleader, we invite you to a feast in your honor."

"We would be pleased to join you tonight, Lobsang, and perhaps tomorrow we can talk of your progress and we can make plans for the impression."

Lobsang nodded vigorously. "Yes! The whole village is anxious for that. There will be much celebrating."

Harry gestured and the riders fanned out to begin their check on the dragons. When Lobsang looked at him, perplexed, he smiled. "My riders are just checking your dragons to see if there are any problems. I realize that you are doing this on your own now, but this is part of what we'll be teaching you and your riders."

Master Jangbu listened for a moment, then he said something to Lobsang, who frowned slightly as he nodded. "We have tried hard to care for our dragons, but it hasn't been easy. The handbook of dragon care calls for potions we do not have. The Weyrhealer has been here several times to help our most sick, but we can't do much," Lobsang said.

"Is it a case of not having the ingredients for the potion or not knowing the recipe?" asked Harry.

"Sometimes it is both, honored Weyrleader," Lobsang admitted.

Harry nodded, then he looked around. "Hermione! May!" he called.

The two girls trotted over, looking at him quizzically.

"Hermione how much did it cost for us to install one of our greenhouses?"

She frowned. "I'll have to check with Lord Mills for the precise figures," she said.

"Take a guess then."

"Forty thousand pounds?"

Harry nodded and looked around, frowning slightly. The village was close enough that he could see these people were living very simply.

"What are you thinking, Harry?" asked May.

Harry waved towards the village, then he shot Lobsang an apologetic look. "Someday this will be a thriving Weyr, May," he said, turning back to her. She glanced at the village and looked doubtful. "Yes, I know what you're thinking. But it illustrates something we've overlooked. It's not enough to say 'you're a Weyr now.' No, we need to put together a package of material and supplies that a newly created Weyr can use to build up from.

He turned and took in the village again. "Lobsang says that our handbook calls for potions which they either don't have the ingredients for, or don't know how to brew. It's not unusual for two countries use different potions for the same purpose. Our pain relief potion is probably very different from the one found in Japan."

"Honored Weyrleader, I am unsure." Lobsang started to say, looking as if their poverty shamed him greatly.

Harry shook his head and he placed a hand on Lobsang's shoulder. "There is no shame to be had in being poor, my friend. I grew up without a penny to my name. Campbeltown Weyr will help you establish your new Weyr. I think a supply of seed stock, potion recipes and a greenhouse kit can be easily arranged for. You already have a herd of food animals and space to build Weyrs for your riders."

He glanced over at Hermione, who was jotting these ideas down to pass to Karen Khan, who would see that Lord Mills would learn of them.

"I suppose it would work. It could be paid back slowly out of profits from the hot rocks," May offered.

Lobsang looked between the trio, his confusion obvious.

"Things are going to change here for the better very soon, my friend. We'll talk of this and many other things tonight after the feast. For now, why don't you show us around," Harry asked.

"Of course, honored Weyrleader."

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, August 10th...**

Sirius entered the large room and saw Katherine waving at him. He gave her a broad smile and walked over to fill his tray before joining her. Remus followed close behind and when he sat down, her nose crinkled slightly.

"I take it you two just got back?" she asked.

Sirius nodded happily at her. "It was fun. Harry picked a beautiful spot for them to relax in. Lake Minniewanker!"

Remus chuckled and shook his head at his friend's antics, then he spelled out the name of the lake. "It's Minniewanka, and it is part of Banff national park in the Canadian Rockies. Apparently, there's a Canadian Weyr near there and they overflew the lake while visiting. I don't know about Padfoot here, but I had a ton of email and other issues to deal with, so I still smell like the wood fires we had."

"It was great, Katherine. I wish you could have come!" exclaimed Sirius. "The lake was a little cold to swim in but that didn't stop us. Harry and the others used the time to relax and just be kids. And we learned that dragons, when they don't want to be seen, can even hide from the wild animals!"

Katherine blinked. "Did you see many wild animals? Especially with dragons around?"

"Why the other night a great big old grizzly bear attacked the camp," Sirius exclaimed.

Remus blinked and looked at him strangely, then he turned to Katherine. "It was a brown bear, very young and probably just kicked free from it's mother. It probably smelled the food from our meal."

Sirius grimaced and glared at Remus. "Am I telling this story or are you?" he asked.

"Well, some one has to make sure the tale doesn't get too tall," Remus countered with a smirk.

Sirius gave him another sour look then turned to Katherine. "It was huge! When it stood up it towered over everyone! Had to be at least fourteen feet tall! Sensing the danger, I changed into Padfoot..."

"_And then he tucked his tail between his legs and ran, howling towards the lake,"_ Norendrath added. _"Chekiath appeared in front of the bear, who took one look at him and ran in the other direction which, unfortunately for Smelly Dog, happened to be in the same direction he went. He saw the bear coming and ran headfirst into Trandieth, knocking himself out."_

Katherine stared at Sirius, who looked down at the table, his cheeks scarlet, and she joined Remus in laughter.

Remus took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "He came to a moment later with Trandieth sniffing him and every so often giving him a lick. Trandieth was complaining that he tasted like chicken and she knew you had to eat of lot of chickens to fill you up. He changed back into Sirius and fainted."

Katherine grinned and shook her head. She looked at Sirius closely, knowing that a bear wouldn't have bothered Padfoot, so some of that had been just for the comedy of it. But she didn't doubt the part of knocking himself out hitting a dragon. When they didn't want to be seen, even Padfoot couldn't find them.

Sirius gave them a sour look. "I suppose you'll probably not believe me about the huge fish I nearly caught?"

Katherine arched and eyebrow and glanced over to Remus, who held his hands about six inches apart.

"Probably not, Siri, but I am glad you're home," she said with a gentle smile.

"Do you want to hear about my marshmallow, biscuit and chocolate invention then?" he asked hopefully.

She chuckled and shook her head, then she reached out and caressed his cheek. "No, what I want to do is give you a kiss, after you go shave and change into clothing that doesn't smell like you've been burning wood for a week."

Sirius blinked. "But I have been burning wood for a week," he protested, then he grinned and stood up. "I'll be back," he promised.

She watched him leave, then she eyed Remus, who smelled nearly as bad as he did. "Don't worry, I'm heading to the showers myself as soon as I've had my tea. It was a good time. The riders relaxed and he and Harry took some long hikes, which I know Harry enjoyed immensely. They were perfectly safe. The few times we did see anything remotely dangerous, they took one look at Chekiath and ran away."

"Did you tell Harry about the experimental treatment?" she asked.

Remus looked down. "No. I didn't want him to get his hopes up, you know?"

"I think you should, but it's your business, Remus," she replied. "I know Sirius agrees with me."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you think I should tell him?"

Katherine played with her cup for a moment. "He cares a great deal for you, Remus. Even if the treatment isn't a cure, there is still the suppression potion, which is a major improvement for you. I think Harry knowing about it would take one piece of stress off his shoulders. He worries about you and you could relieve him of that."

Remus finished off his drink and stood. "I'll think about it, Katherine. It's not something I need to decide today."

**Maziang Tibet, August 10th...**

Harry leaned back in his chair. To his right sat Master Jangbu, the leader of the dragon handlers. Next to him sat another old man, Anil, the village elder. The village had really put itself out for the feast and Harry had already spoken to Dobby about replenishing their stores so that they wouldn't have to go without.

The state of the village really drove home the near poverty levels that these wizards were living at. It both bothered and impressed him they had been caring for dragons for nearly four hundred years and had refused to bow to the temptation of the wealth they could have had had they culled their herd.

He was convinced that this place would not only be a success as a weyr, but soon be a thriving community of people. They had lived in absolute squalor for their dragons and now the dragons would help Maziang become better.

Nokrenth and Chekiath were both inside the village, watching from the central road that ran through it.

Harry reached out and touched Jangbu's hand. "Master Jangbu, we have seen a great many things today that please me, but I am concerned about one thing. Do the Chinese bother you here?"

He waited for a moment while Nokrenth translated for the old man, whose expression turned to disgust. He spat on the floor and jabbered something so quickly that Harry couldn't tell where one word ended and another started.

"Master Jangbu say that when China men come it was bad time for Tibet," Lobsang told him. "Many good men tried to fight but they could not. Behind the China men were the China wizards, who wanted to steal and plunder our magical heritage. Maziang was always safe behind our wards, which were crafted by the masters of Shangri La. Jangbu and all of Maziang wept knowing they were safe here while Tibet suffered, but what could we do? We are a small village and not trained in war."

Harry knew of Shangri La. It was one of the largest wizarding communities in the world and it nearly exposed the existence of magic in World War II when they allowed an allied air base to be built within the wards. The President of the United States inadvertently admitted in a press interview that they were using their secret base at Shangri La.

"_Lowly Novice softened White Eyes reply a little, Weyrleader,"_ Nokrenth said privately. _"White Eyes called the invader dung eaters who smelled bad and fornicated with water buffalo."_

Harry nodded and smiled. He wasn't about to take Lobsang to task over a minor mistranslation. "So the Chinese communists don't know you're here?"

Lobsang grinned. "They think this is a place of demons and much bad magic. Even the army is afraid of Maziang plateau."

Harry chuckled. It wasn't the first time wards had been used to scare away muggles. In fact, one of the primary wards at Hogwarts made the castle appear to be a ruin to a muggle, giving them an uneasy feeling of danger that made most people leave the area.

"Weyrleader, is it true that the Weyr will get rich by selling rocks? It seems to be quite a marvel to me," Lobsang said, his brow furrowing. "Why would muggles want rocks?"

Hermione glanced over and spotted Harry's pained expression, she had heard Lobsang's comment. "I'll explain it, Harry."

Lobsang turned to Hermione, who launched into an explanation. While she spoke, Harry considered the concept of a Weyr made up entirely of wizards and wondered if they should get some normal riders who were familiar with muggle technology. He jotted down a note in his list to bring this up at the next council meeting.

"_Weyrleader, do these Chinese people worry you?"_ asked Nokrenth privately.

Harry turned towards the open window. _"They do, Nokrenth, but if they leave the Weyr alone then I am __inclined not to worry overmuch about them."_

"_I know Campbeltown maintains a patrol. Do you think we should, as well?"_

"_It wouldn't hurt. You seem safe enough for now, but who knows what the future holds? Someday soon, the world will know of us and not everyone is going to be happy to know we exist. Are there some older villagers that might help maintain security for the Weyr?"_

"_Some of us have befriended the handlers. Once we knew it was safe to talk to them, we found them to be nice people. I am certain several would be willing to help. A great many of them were disappointed to know they were too old to impress."_

Jangbu turned his white sightless eyes to Harry and spoke softly for a moment. Lobsang was occupied with Hermione and didn't hear the Master Dragon Handler speak.

"_White Eyes wishes for you to know that they will protect their dragons from the dung eaters who smell bad. They are not a war like people, but they think dragons are a gift from heaven that must be protected,"_ Nokrenth said.

Harry pat the man gently on his arm. "Please tell Master Jangbu that I couldn't agree more."

"_Yes, Weyrleader,"_ replied Nokrenth.

The old man beamed a wide smile at Harry. He might be blind but somehow he knew where Harry was.

"_I like this place, Harry,"_ said Chekiath.

He glanced out the window and chuckled. Chekiath was surrounded by small children and one of the older girls seemed to be instructing them where to scratch for the dragon's enjoyment.

Seeing that Hermione was done explaining to Lobsang, Harry leaned a little closer. "Lobsang, why are your wards made by the Ward Masters at Shangri La?"

Lobsang took a sip from his drink, then he waved a hand encompassing all of the people in the large room. It was big enough, barely, to hold roughly half of the villagers. "Shangri La is home to our cultural heart. When China men come, they steal many things, things that weren't protected, then China wizards came sneaking in behind them, taking things sacred to our people. Ward Masters saw the thefts they did elsewhere and decided to preserve what they could. Maziang was protected even before China men come to take our homes. Maziang is poor dragon reserve, but dragons are a source of pride to the people of Tibet. All Tibet wizards are proud that Maziang protects dragons so Ward Masters protect us," he said brokenly.

The wizards of Tibet looked at the dragon as a symbol of power that could not be broken. It was a strange idea for a country that had been conquered.

Harry nodded. "Lobsang, I promise you that someday the Ward Masters will be glad they protected you and your dragons," he replied, then reached for a drink. The food was strange and a bit more spicy than he was used to, but it was filling and he wasn't about to ask what it was.

Over the course of the next five days, the riders would politely pry into the lives of the dragon handlers and the village, determining more about their needs. Harry's initial list of items needed to jump start the weyr grew, but as it did, so did his enthusiasm. The group of potentials was large and already working closely with the dragons. Lobsang had translated their handbook, which the potentials were studying as though it was some holy text.

When the time came to impress, Maziang would have the best potentials with the most dragon experience.

Chekiath and the other dragons from Campbeltown were in seventh heaven. The village had nearly eighty children under the age of ten who spent a great deal of the week helping take care of the dragons. Lobsang told Harry that the children remembered their lessons that dragons were dangerous, but the rider's dragons were 'tame'.

By the end of the week, and with the help of the rider's dragons, the children were actively assisting where they could with the dragons in the reserve.

Harry had passed word to his riders asking them to look for areas that the Weyr could help them with and several people were compiling their own lists.

When the time came, Harry and the riders left just a bit humbled by a group of poor wizards who loved dragons almost as much as they did. They left behind lifelong friends and a certainty that Maziang would become a successful Weyr.

**Campbeltown Weyr, August 16th...**

Harry and the riders appeared in skies over the Weyr. The dragons of the Weyr charged out of their hangars, bugling a welcome to the travelers, who were very glad to be home. It was barely seven in the morning and the noise woke up the entire Weyr. People stumbled out of their homes to look at the dragons making the racket. The riders performed a single low level pass before banking back to land in front of Hangar Two.

The villagers had given them a resounding send off and the riders got quite a kick out of seeing one of the village Elders trying to give the Weyrleader his granddaughter. Harry stammered his thanks, as well as his refusal, which Lobsang translated. Lobsang actually looked rather relieved that Harry didn't want the girl.

It had been mid afternoon when they left Maziang, and no one had realized they would be arriving so early back in Scotland.

Harry slid down Chekiath, who quickly headed off towards their quarters.

Harry looked at Sirius, who was wearing a robe and fuzzy bunny slippers. Remus, at least, looked more dignified in his robe and slippers. Harry shook his head at Sirius, then smirked when he spotted Katherine exiting Sirius' quarters, looking rather rumpled.

"Good morning," Harry said brightly.

Remus chuckled and shook his head. "Good morning," he replied, then he turned and headed back into his bungalow to change.

Sirius muttered something about ungrateful kids with badass dragons and walked away, intercepting Katherine and dragging her back to his quarters.

Harry looked over his shoulder at the riders and grinned. "We forgot the time difference."

Emma shook her head. "I completely forgot about it," she admitted.

"Don't look at me," Dan said, "I stopped resetting my watch after the sixth time zone change in six days."

Harry chuckled, "Well, might as well get started with the day here. We'll talk about Maziang and their needs in a few days," he told the others.

The riders dispersed to their quarters. More than a few of the girls went looking for a nice relaxing bath, which was a luxury not included in their tents. The tents were quite comfortable, but were only equipped with showers.

Several hours later, Remus found Harry in this office, pouring over some documents that Sir Robert had sent to him, explaining how the power plant would work. He also detailed the effort to design a modular container to house the hot rocks. The idea was that the container could be removed from a power station and returned to the Weyr to be recharged by dragons, then it could be snapped back into place when needed.

"Hi, Harry," Remus said, entering his office.

Harry looked up and grinned. "You look good. I told you the camping would help."

Remus chuckled and sat down in a chair across from him. "Have you given any though to the idea of helping the Ministry with the dementor problem?"

Harry nodded. "I did. Hang on a sec," he muttered, then he rooted around on his deck until he found his book. He flipped it open and started looking. "I know I wrote it down.. ah.. there!"

He frowned for a second. "There are one hundred dementors in the prison now right?"

"Give or take a few, yes," Remus replied.

"And one hundred were destroyed at Balmoral Castle," Harry added. "Does that include the ones that were hunting for Sirius?"

Remus blinked and looked at Harry in shock. "I don't know," he admitted. "It better include them or we have a bunch of dementors floating around in Britain." He stood suddenly. "I better speak to Sirius about this. Even with the warrant being voided, there's a chance he's still at risk."

"I'll send a message to Dumbledore, asking for clarification," Harry offered.

Remus nodded and walked from the room, while Harry scribbled a note and called for Dobby.

**Ministry of Magic, August 16th...**

"Most of the shops have reopened in Diagon Alley and we're..." Albus paused mid-sentence and he looked surprised to see Dobby. "Dobby, do you need something?"

"Harry Potter sir asked me to give you this," said Dobby, holding up a note.

Albus took the note and offered Sir William an apologetic look, then he opened it. As he read it, his eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. "Oh, my. Alejandro? Did the Ministry ever recall the dementors that were out looking for Sirius Black?"

Alejandro looked up from his Book of Answers in shock. "Now that I think on it, no, I don't think so."

Sir William frowned. "How many dementors are there?"

Croaker looked down at his book and flipped some pages. "The last census of dementors was in 1975. At that time there were two hundred and seventy five dementors in Britain, all concentrated at Azkaban."

"So, Azkaban should have one hundred and seventy five dementors right?" asked Sir William.

"No," replied Albus, looking very embarrassed. "Roughly seventy five dementors were released from Azkaban with orders to find Sirius Black and administer the kiss."

"So, your telling me there are seventy five of these monsters roaming around the country that only wizards and dragons can see?" demanded Sir William. He massaged his temples and wished that he could speed up time. Only five more years and he could retire to a nice, quiet life and raise beagles with his wife as he'd always wanted to do.

"I'm afraid so. At the time, Fudge was concerned that he wasn't appearing to be doing enough to catch Black. He authorized a kiss on sight order and had them set seventy or so of the creatures loose," Croaker said.

Sir William sagged back in his chair. "Wonderful. I'm going to have to tell Her Majesty about this, you know."

Croaker and Dumbledore exchanged a look. "Perhaps we can see if the prison staff can recall them, but they've been out for a long time. The compulsion must be really weak by now," Albus said.

Sir William looked to Croaker, who shrugged.

"There's a compulsion laid on the prison which allows the guards to control the demons," he explained. "Normally, a dementor might be removed from the island for a few days, but the compulsion is strong enough to last. These dementors have been free for nearly two years now. I'm not sure they will respond to any commands. Rounding them up takes at least a dozen wizards who can cast a patronus charm, plus someone to cast a compulsion on the creature. I don't want to think about how many wizards we'd need to subdue a group of them."

"What about the dragons?" asked Albus.

Croaker glanced over to him. "Aye, the dragons could do it, but could they find them?"

Albus sighed for a moment, then he waved his wand causing the door to close. "What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. Sir William, you may tell the Queen and the Prime Minister, but please stress the sensitive nature of this information."

Croaker arched an eyebrow and Sir William nodded uncertainly.

"When Harry Potter impressed Chekiath and left school, I was concerned. Voldemort was not fully dead, thanks to some necromantic rituals he had performed. And there was a prophecy sphere in your Hall of Prophecies which stated that Harry could destroy Voldemort using a power he was unfamiliar with."

Both men nodded and Albus continued his tale.

"I wasn't too upset about Harry leaving school. If fate planned on Harry facing Voldemort, then no power on earth could prevent the pair from meeting. During Harry's impression, a parasitic leech was forced from Harry and destroyed by Momnarth. The dragons now had a taste of Voldemort's signature and they conducted a nationwide search for any remnants of Voldemort that they could find. Their search was fruitful and it ended up with Peter Pettigrew being dumped off in America, as well as Voldemort being disposed of.

"Now, the reason I share this is because the dragons can see dementors and they have already successfully carried out one nationwide search," Albus concluded.

Sir William looked interested, but Croaker wanted more information. "How did they dispose of him, Albus?"

Albus smiled softly. "My friend, let's just say it's done and the last time I looked the sphere in question had turned black."

Croaker leaned back in his chair and nodded a bit unhappily. He wanted to know more but he also knew it would be a waste of time trying to find out from Albus if he didn't want to tell him.

Albus scribbled off a note and he passed off to Dobby, who had waited. "Please take this to Harry, and don't repeat any of this to anyone, Dobby."

"Master Albus, Dobby would never tell Harry Potter sir's secrets," Dobby exclaimed a bit offended, then he vanished.

"I better contact the PM. He'll want to discuss this, I'm sure," Sir William said, reaching for his phone.

**Campbeltown Weyr, August 16th...**

Harry put down the note and sighed. "Thank you, Dobby, that will be all for now." he said absently.

Dobby nodded and popped away.

"_Spath, my friend, when we were looking for Voldemort, did we ever overfly any dementors?"_ He sent.

"_I am asking around, but I think we did, Weyrleader. We didn't know what they were at the time and we __weren't looking for them, so no one thought to bring it up at the time. Is it important now?"_ replied Spath.

"_I'm afraid it is. Gather the leaders of the unmanned wings and bring them to Hangar Two so they can listen in. I'll call in the riders and the others."_

"_Yes, Weyrleader."_

Harry stood and broadcast a message to the dragons telling them to inform their riders of an important meeting in Hangar Two right away, then he went to find Remus and the others.

Twenty minutes later, Harry walked up to the podium on the stage and looked out at the assembled people. He smiled and shook his head. "You know, this time next year and we're going to need a new place for an all hands meeting."

Everyone chuckled and smiled at the idea. By this time next year, they would have had two more impressions and would be gearing up for another one.

"Remus, following this meeting, I need you to go to the apothecary in Diagon Alley and get us enough potions to put everyone back on English time by tomorrow. That means something to keep us awake a little longer, then a sleeping draught for tonight."

Hermione raised her hand and Harry nodded. "Yes, Hermione I know. We need to start stocking some potions, maybe making them ourselves. If you want put together a list of potions, speak with some of our other wizards for ideas and we will deal with it."

He took a deep breath. "Now for the real reason for this meeting. Her Majesty is unhappy that the wizards used the dementors in her prison. She wanted those dementors destroyed and the only way we know of to destroy a dementor is with dragon fire or taking it between.

"Honestly, I didn't want to risk our dragons, so I asked if it would be possible to seal them into the prison. Locking them up to starve would be just as good, I thought, but then I asked another question. I asked about the dementors that had been set loose to hunt down Sirius Black."

Harry looked towards Sirius, who a lot of the riders were looking at now. It was obvious from Harry's expression that he was unhappy with the situation. "Sirius, I'm sorry, but if you want to go anywhere outside of the Weyr, I insist you bring Norendrath with you. There are seventy five unaccounted for dementors out there, still looking for you and they will give you the kiss if they find you."

Sirius was about to say something, but the pleading look in Harry's eyes stopped him. Katherine said something in a whisper and he unhappily nodded. "All right, Harry," he said.

Harry nodded, then his expression changed again. "Sirius, starting tomorrow, I want you to put together a plan to sweep this country from one end to the other. Work with Luna, since she'll be starting her search soon, as well. Use every non-bonded dragon if you have to. I don't want any dragon to go up against a dementor alone, so find them, call in for help and wait for it to arrive. Once it does, flame them if there are no people around, or take them Between.

"I am absolutely certain our British friends will ask for our help in this and I'm willing to help destroy these things before another dragon or person dies. When they ask, we'll put our plan into effect."

He paused and looked around. "Any questions?"

May stood, "Harry, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of creatures I can't see."

Harry smiled gently at her. "May," he said, then he paused and his smiled broadened. "All right, I think it's time we really discuss our bonds. May, come on up here please."

She joined him a few moments later, looking a bit nervous.

Harry conjured a chair and gestured for her to sit. "Close your eyes," he told her once she was seated.

She closed her eyes and waited.

"Trath, I want you to fly over the Weyr. While you do, send your rider the images you're seeing," Harry called.

He grinned at the surprised look on the riders and completely missed May's surprised gasp. A minute later, he sent a silent thanks to Trath and told her to land if she wanted.

May opened her eyes and looked at Harry with a stunned expression.

"It wasn't long after I impressed Cheki that I realized if a dragon could share the images for a jump Between, why not send what they were seeing?" Harry asked. "In a case of looking for a magical creature that only a wizard or a dragon can see, the normal riders can see through their dragon's eyes."

Several of the riders looked stunned and Harry frowned at them. It seemed like many were reluctant to explore their bonds completely and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

"_Some of our riders are fearful, Harry. They think they can get lost in the bond,"_ Chekiath announced.

"_I know, mate, but only time will ease their fears,"_ Harry replied silently.

"I want you all to practice seeing what your dragon sees. It might save your life. In the meantime, you can tell when you're in the presence of a dementor by two key clues. One, it will get cold. Things will frost over, although it won't be as cold as Between. The second clue is that you'll suddenly find yourself being bombarded by unhappy thoughts or memories. If this happens and you're not on your dragon, run. Don't stick around, don't try to think your way through it, don't try to be brave. Run as hard and as fast as you can because your life and your dragons life depend upon it."

He turned back to May, who was still sitting in the chair. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Yes. I just wasn't expecting that sort of thing. It was very disorientating."

Harry nodded. "It won't be as bad when you're on Trath's back and seeing what she sees. Sitting here, motionless, while she flies around is what caused your disorientation."

She stood and walked back to her place among the riders.

Harry nodded to Remus, who stood and slipped from the room. "While we're here, are there any issues which need to be addressed?"

"I have some news I'd like to share," Sir Robert said.

Harry nodded and motioned for Sir Robert to come up on the stage. Harry went and sat in the chair he had conjured for May.

"As most of you can see, we broke ground for the test station. The buildings will be up and new fencing installed around that area probably before the end of this year. The power station, on the other hand, will still take many months to complete. I would ask that you refrain from overflying the area to sight see. I promise that when the time comes and the buildings and station are running, we'll be happy to give tours. Right now we don't want to risk a security breach if a dragon is spotted," Sir Robert said.

"I have heard from Doctor Standish, who returned to America last week. Weyrleader, the Americans are planning on using the base where you met them as the new Weyr. They will be trucking in mobile housing for the people of the Weyr and erecting structures to replace the old hangars. They ask that we provide them help in setting up dragon enclosures.

"Doctor Standish will be returning to Campbeltown sometime in late September. For now, Doctor O'Connor has been attached to our research team. Once the Americans are up and running with their Weyr, I'll send someone from my team there to help coordinate and pass information between the two groups. I expect Doctor O'Connor will remain as our American scientific liaison."

"Finally, we have contracted a company to assemble a giant video display and keyboard that can be used by the dragons. It's not a perfect solution, but it will give the dragons a way of communicating with people. If the system works out, I think I'd like to see about a smaller version that the dragons can have installed in their enclosures."

"Sir Robert? I don't mean to interrupt, but why would you install a video display and keyboard in a dragon stall?" asked Hermione.

Sir Robert grinned. "My dear, you love to read and I'm sure it's your favorite thing after your dragon. If we can determine how well the dragons can see, and that is part of the plan when we start testing the dragons, we could offer them electronic versions of books. The system I am envisioning would be fairly simple, but it would give the dragons an option. Right now, the dragons can read what you read. But what if they want to read something you don't like?"

Hermione paled slightly and looked aghast. "I never... It never occurred to me that Coma would like to pick out a book to read."

"_It's all right, Hermione,"_ Comaloth announced to the room. _"Most of what you read is enjoyable. But I do like the idea of being able to choose."_

From the looks of the riders it was obvious that most of them had heard similar comments from their own dragons.

Sir Robert moved away from the podium and Harry stood. "Sir Robert, how soon before the Americans need our help?"

"Not until early October, I should think, Harry. There's a lot of basic work to be done. The Yanks are reactivating the field and putting it under military control, as far as the public knows," Sir Robert replied.

Harry nodded and made a note in his book, then he looked to the others. "I don't intend to make this a regular meeting. I know we're all rather tired. Do try to stay awake until Remus comes back. I think we're all going to need to be back on English time by tomorrow. That's it. Oh, wait. Luna, I want to see a list of names from you of who you plan to draft into your search team. We need to start searching very soon, possibly this week."

Luna looked up and smiled dreamily at him. "Since we may have to sweep the country looking for dementors, maybe we can have the dragons note any place with people who might be candidates?"

Harry smiled. "Good idea. Thank you, everyone," he said, dismissing the group.

**Ministry of Magic, Office of Revision, August 17th...**

Arthur Weasley walked into his office and smiled to himself. He carefully placed his wand in a metal container attached to the wall, then he locked it and pocketed the key. This was a requirement in any room that contained certain types of muggle office machines, such as computers, telephones and fax machines. Arthur had less of a problem with the rule than others. He had attended his classes on using the phone and the computer and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Some offices, like the Deputy Minister's office, contained more expensive, shielded machines that allowed Albus Dumbledore and Alejandro Croaker to keep their wands and even perform some magic in the room.

Arthur sat at his desk and with a smile that he couldn't suppress, he flipped the switch that turned on his computer. This was a new office and a new department inside the Ministry. It was also a temporary department that they hoped wouldn't be needed someday. The Office of Revision was set up to examine Ministry rules and directives with the intent to bring them in line with the rest of the government. A second group in his new department was working on the legal code and Arthur did work with them as well, but they were mostly an all muggle group.

When his computer announced that he had mail, he laughed softly to himself and reached for his mouse. He didn't understand why it was called a mouse, but at least it was easier to pronounce than computer. Arthur looked at the email for a moment, then he pulled a pad and a pen from this desk and started making notes. Her Majesty had approved a number of proposed changes to existing laws.

The door to the office opened and he smiled, seeing Percy walk in. Percy had been released from custody after he had been interrogated. It had been determined that he was an ass kisser, but he hadn't broken any laws. Originally, his position had been closed and he had been terminated, but Arthur managed to get him a position in his office, working under him.

"Good morning, Percy," he said.

Percy turned and placed his wand in a box. He didn't like giving up his wand like this, but his father reminded him that it was either this or trying to find a job in an economy that was barely holding off a collapse.

"Good morning, father," Percy replied stiffly. Despite his father's best attempts, Percy still managed to retain his officious manner.

"I have a list here of revisions that have been approved. It's looking like the office of Magical Animal Control will need to be completely revamped," Arthur said. "The Queen feels that the intelligent beings need to be treated better."

Percy frowned. "It's a shame we couldn't get Charlie into that office. He'd be perfect for the job."

Arthur frowned. "You know that even after the government announced that dragons were as intelligent as you and I, Charlie still felt he had done nothing wrong. No, he's better off now that he got that job at the Griffon ranch in South America."

Percy shook his head in dismay. He could clearly hear the disappointment in his father's voice over his brother, "But father, don't you see the damage that's been done? Every potion master in the country is scrambling. They've found replacements for only three percent of the potions that used dragon ingredients. Three percent! It's ruining the economy!"

Arthur sighed. "Percy, sit down and for once in your life really listen to me instead of pretending to listen."

Percy blinked in shock and sat down staring at his father in surprise.

"Over eight hundred wizards were killed by muggles and the goblins. The dragons led the effort to save Her Majesty and in the process, they _killed_ one hundred dementors. _Killed._ For good or ill, our world had to change. We were trying to hide from an increasingly powerful muggle community. And while we hid, we routinely committed crimes against them. Do you know how many wizards were charged under the muggle protection act that I helped get passed four years ago?"

"I don't see how this is relevant!"

"None, that's how many. And yet my department arrested dozens, including wizards that killed muggles with their little enchantments. They committed murder and got away with only a fine."

Arthur sighed. "Look, son, I know that I've given you all a bad impression of me over the years. I have tried to raise you boys to do the right thing. And I know your mother, as well meaning as she might be, seems to run roughshod over everything at home, including me. But if you'd only stop and think about it, you'd realize that I let her do that. As head of the house, I could have told her to behave, but it made her happy and when it came to important matters, she knew she couldn't make a decision without my agreement. Muggles and Wizards are people, we're all the same. I've known that for years and your Mum knew it as well. One of her best friends was a muggle born who lost her parents to Voldemort. I held her as she cried for them like she did for her own brothers.

"The one thing we've tried very hard to do was to instill a sense of decency in each of you. People are people and the Queen wants us to accept the fact that goblins, house elves, centaurs, and even dragons are people too. I can see her point of view. I can also see what she and Minister O'Hearny have been saying. Don't look at our problems as disasters, look at them as challenges to be overcome.

"That's what this office is all about, overcoming the old ways that don't work and fixing them. The question you need to ask yourself is a simple one. Do you have the intelligence, ingenuity and drive to help us create a better wizarding world or not?"

Percy stared at his father, having rarely heard him speak so forcefully before. "I don't know," he muttered. "We were taught in school that wizards were the best."

Arthur scowled. "Maybe you were taught that, but no one taught you that we had the right to destroy the lives of muggles. Being better doesn't mean grinding them under your heel like they're some kind of insect. And you know for a fact that you weren't taught that at home. Think about it, son, because I need people who are going to believe in what they are doing."

Percy stared at his father in shock. He had spent ten days in a muggle jail cell and he had plenty of time there to build up resentment for them. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you can't do the work, then tell me now. You know the challenges we face, but if you can't be part of the answer, I'll see if there's another department that is willing to take you on."

Percy winced. "I'll do the work, father," he said sheepishly. He knew that most of the restarted departments were extremely picky about who they were going to employ, and with his record, he'd be lucky to end up in building maintenance.

"Good, because I do need your help with this, Percy," Arthur admitted. He watched his son for a few minutes, then he turned back to the papers on his desk. He was sure that he'd finally made a dent in Percy's resentment.

"Arthur?"

He looked up to see Albus standing in the doorway. "Albus?" he said with a broad smile.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to drop what you're doing. We have a meeting in twenty minutes at the Prime Minister's office and since you are the only one who had department manager experience in law enforcement, they might want your expertise."

Arthur stood and looked down at his robes. "Ah... I better return home to change into something appropriate then."

Albus nodded. "Just be back here in less than twenty minutes."

Arthur nodded, then he quickly made for the door, squeezing past Albus.

Dumbledore waited until Arthur was gone then he looked at Percy. "Your father is an extraordinary man, Mister Weasley. I think he is one of the few that realize the true scope of the difficulties we face. You'd do very well by learning what you can from him."

Percy nodded. "Yes, sir," he said.

Most people revered Dumbledore, so hearing that from the man made him pause and wonder what Dumbledore was seeing. He had been a true believer in the Ministry of Magic, but they had lost the war. It was time for him to pick a new side to believe in.

Albus nodded cordially and walked away.

**#10 Downing Street, London, August 17th...**

It was a much bemused and confused Arthur who was ushered into the Prime Minister's office along with Deputy Minister O'Hearny and Albus Dumbledore. The first thing he saw had him stopping in his tracks.

"Harry!" he exclaimed.

Harry glanced at Arthur and smiled weakly, then turned back to Prime Minister Major. "So, that's it then? Ten to fifteen years for both of them?"

Major nodded. "It was made plain to them that we had enough evidence to convict them on much more serious charges. Given that, and their lawyer advising them they could easily spend twenty five years in prison, they pled guilty. Once that happened, the wheels started turning much quicker. The key thing, Weyrleader, is now you won't have to testify at all.

"Your cousin has been turned over to the Crown after an inspection of your Aunt's home showed it was unfit for humans to live in. The health inspector said that her kennel business had moved into her house, rather than the small building next door which was largely unused."

Harry nodded, ran a hand through his hair and sighed. A wave of relief washed through him, along with it a sense of vindication. He had spent his life living with those people and they had marked him more deeply than Voldemort could have. Now he was truly free of them.

The Prime Minister decided not to burden Harry with the news that his cousin had failed a psyche evaluation and was being sent to a high security home where he would receive help.

"_See, Harry? I told you everything would turn out all right. Now you'll never have to worry about them again,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry smiled and looked up towards the ceiling. "I know, mate, but old habits are hard to break."

Arthur looked around in confusion. "Who was that? I clearly heard a voice!" he asked.

Harry shot him an amused look. "That was Chekiath, my dragon," he replied quietly.

Major gestured to the chairs and everyone sat down. "You gentlemen called this meeting and asked that the Weyrleader be present. I'll let you begin."

O'Hearny nodded and opened up a file folder. "We were exploring the issue of dementors and what to do with them when it was mentioned that the Weyr might be able to provide some help in the matter. In the attack at Balmoral castle, one hundred dementors were killed for the loss of one dragon and another four injured. I have been told that the wizards do not know how to kill dementors and to try would probably result in a far greater loss of life."

When Harry's expression turned thunderous, James Mills placed a hand on him arm and leaned forward. "Sir William, what you say is true, but you are speaking as if we could order the dragons to kill them. The Weyr is not part of our government, nor is it part of our military."

O'Hearny looked at Lord Mills and frowned. "I just assumed."

"You just assumed we'd do your bidding," Harry said flatly.

"Gentlemen, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Why don't we first figure out what the problem is, then we'll figure out ways of dealing with it," Major said soothingly.

Harry nodded reluctantly and he leaned back in his chair.

Major glanced over at O'Hearny, who looked embarrassed, then he flipped a few pages in his file. "When you're ready, Sir William."

"There were two hundred and seventy five dementors at the last census performed in 1975," Sir William began. "Nearly two years ago, seventy five were removed from the prison on the order of Cornelius Fudge and given the command to find and administer the kiss to Sirius Black.

"The dementors were sent to scour the grounds around Hogwarts in the belief that Black was actively seeking to kill Harry Potter. Something occurred at Hogwarts at the end of the previous school year which resulted in all seventy five scattering. Minister Fudge refused to recall the dementors, since they were a visible sign of the Ministry's manhunt for the escaped Black.

"There are reports of dementors being spotted in Diagon Ally, Hogsmeade, Witch Lane in Aberdeen, and even in the White Haven community. Complaints have arisen of them clustering around schools and other places where children congregate."

Sir William paused and took a breath. "Once we realized that there were still so many dementors outstanding, we ordered the Warden of Azkaban to issue a general recall. Unfortunately, the recall was only partially effective."

"Sixty two of the seventy five dementors returned to the prison," Albus said quietly and Arthur glanced sharply over at him, he had not heard about this before.

"That leaves us with thirteen of these creatures unaccounted for," Major said grimly. "What are we doing about it?"

"Alejandro Croaker is at Azkaban today, trying to see if they can put more power into the recall spell, but he's not optimistic about its success. In the meantime, we still lack the manpower needed to begin a search for these things. Our DMLE is up and running, but at a level barely capable of maintaining law and order in the populated areas. We have thirty five former aurors, and another one hundred wizards from our attached force. Add to that their muggle partners and we have less than three hundred law enforcement agents to cover all of magical Britain."

Arthur shook his head in dismay. The numbers were far too low.

"You have something to add, Mister Weasley?" asked O'Hearny.

"Sir, before Cornelius took office and restructured the Ministry, I used to work with the Azkaban guard force and the Aurors as a trainer. I'm not a fighter, but I can cast the Patronus spell which is used to control dementors and I've been told I'm good at teaching it. The Patronus is used primarily to either scare the beast away or, if you have enough wizards, subdue the creature long enough for someone to cast the compulsion on it. I don't know anyone foolish enough to try to subdue multiple dementors. In a case of two, we'd try to split them up so they could be dealt with individually.

"After Cornelius got into office, he immediately started making changes. My training of aurors and prison guards was deemed unnecessary and dropped entirely. I do not know if any of the current aurors or guards are capable of casting a corporeal Patronus anymore."

"To sum up then," said Major, "we have thirteen lethally dangerous creatures floating around the countryside. If they find Sirius Black, they will kill him on sight. We don't know that they won't give a kiss to others."

"Oh, they will," added Arthur grimly. "They need to be very hungry but the need to feed has overridden the compulsion in the past.

"Normally they are content to feed off of the emotions they can pick up from people, but there have been a few occasions where they have rushed in to stop someone from getting away from them and administered a kiss. It's almost like the urge to kiss is triggered by the potential for a chase and perhaps the dementor's prey managing to escape."

Major gave Arthur a sour look. "So how do we find them? Suggestions?"

"Look for their victims? Unexplained comas would be one way," suggested Lord Mills.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "The Weyr is about to begin its search for candidate riders. It had been originally planned that eight riders would lead teams of ten dragons each to search for candidates, but the news of dementors going feral changed those plans."

Harry turned to the Prime Minister. "Sir, with your permission, the Weyr would like to conduct a search within your territory to find these creatures and destroy them. The dragon's keen eyesight and their ability to see magic will allow us to locate them from a safe distance. Our response will depend on the number of dementors found at the time and where they are."

He paused and looked pointedly at O'Hearny for a moment, before turning back at Major. "The Weyr shares this land with your nation and therefore we have a responsibility to make sure it's safe for dragons and for humans. Dementors have already killed one dragon and I don't intend to let them kill another. But we are volunteering for this. Had someone tried to order us, I probably would have refused."

Major looked relieved by Harry offer. He had no intention of trying to order Harry to do anything, and he intended to speak with O'Hearny over his assumption.

"Her Majesty's government is grateful for your help, Weyrleader. I will see that the necessary paperwork is drawn up authorizing the Weyr to use lethal force to destroy these creatures. Would you allow us to coordinate the effort so we know what areas have been searched?" Major asked.

"Send someone to work under Captain Atkins. We'll be happy to detail what areas we've searched and what actions we've had to take. I just want to be sure everyone is clear, the safety of my dragons and riders is my main concern. If we stumble upon all dementors clustered, I'll probably call up help to overwhelm them rather than risk another death."

"In other words, given a choice between security and safety, safety is going to win," Major murmured.

Harry nodded firmly.

"Can you blame him, John?" asked Lord Mills.

Major blinked and smiled slightly, "Blame? Heavens no. I just want these things found and destroyed. Hopefully they will have broken into smaller groups."

Major turned back to Harry. "Weyrleader, we are not without resources of our own. I have been informed that bullets would have little effect on these things, but we have other weapons such as flame throwers, napalm and the like. Should you find these things clustered, contact me and we'll try to help."

Harry nodded to the man who he was coming to respect a great deal. "Thank you, Prime Minister. If you'll excuse me, I'll return to the Weyr and get organized there."

"One last thing before you go, Weyrleader," Major said quickly. "Lord Mills has my office email address. I would appreciate if you would take the time to outline some of the things you learned about Maziang. I'm personally concerned about its location. They are in a conquered nation and the Chinese are not noted for treating people kindly. I realize that it's your decision to open that Weyr, but there are security issues that need to be addressed."

Harry smiled. "I have a lot of notes about that particular Weyr, but I'll lay one fear to rest right now. The Chinese are afraid of the Maziang plateau and don't go anywhere near it. Albus can describe the warding scheme in more detail for you, but I can tell you now that the wards on the place are created by masters. Chinese wizards know they cannot enter, and the normal Chinese are convinced the place is haunted by evil spirits. I'll write it all up tomorrow and send it to you."

With a nod to the others, Harry walked from the room, leaving Arthur Weasley astonished by what had just transpired.

Albus chuckled at his reaction. "Do not worry, Arthur. I will endeavor to explain later. But suffice to say that the Harry Potter you knew has come quite a long way in less than a year."

**Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, August 20th...**

Harry looked up at the new map on the wall that Katherine had supplied. Thanks to Sirius and Remus, the map automatically updated to one in Captain Pearson's office. Captain Pearson's arrival at the Weyr two days ago signaled several important changes, not the least of which was Katherine Atkins receiving a surprise promotion to Major.

At first Harry had been pleased by her promotion, which had puzzled the woman. Barely a day had gone by when she confronted him about it.

"_What did you do?" she asked. She was sitting in the Kitchen Hall next to Sirius, who was eying the pair with intense amusement._

"_Do?" asked Harry mildly. "As far as I know, nothing."_

_She frowned. "Word out of the Prime Minister's office is you told the PM that you'd accept someone from the Army to help monitor the search as long as they answered to me."_

_Harry nodded. "Yes, that's basically what I said. Why?"_

_Katherine sighed. "Harry, I'm not due for a promotion for another two years, at least. Someone in the PM's office took your comment to imply I should be promoted, since the man they wanted to send was the same rank as I was. I just received notice of my promotion to Major."_

"_This is a good thing, isn't it?" asked Harry, rather confused. "I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted whoever they sent to be working with you most of the time."_

_Katherine sighed in exasperation. "I'm grateful, really, but I prefer to earn my promotions."_

_Harry shook his head. "No, I think you're wrong, Katherine. Sure, I might have said something that someone misinterpreted, but I can't see Prime Minister Major ordering the Minister of Defense to promote a captain. My comment might have gotten people thinking in that direction, but someone in your own department had to agree with it."_

_Sirius took a sip from his tea. "He has a point," he said smugly. "I think you deserved it. Besides, if I had my way you'd be an Admiral."_

_Katherine looked blankly at Harry for a moment, surprised by his comment, then she turned to look at Sirius as if he were nuts._

"_Sirius, that's the navy," she informed him._

_Sirius chuckled, "I know, but they have nicer uniforms. More shiny buttons and stuff."_

_When her eyes narrowed, he blanched. "Not that you don't look great in uniform with your stuff," he exclaimed. His eyes narrowed suddenly as he realized how wrong that sounded. It didn't help that Harry was chuckling at him._

_Katherine leaned across the table towards Sirius and shook a finger under his nose. "Not. One. Word," she hissed._

"_Sirius?" Harry said, "I think this is one of those times that you told me about that you're supposed to say you're sorry and shut up afterward."_

Harry chuckled at the memory, then looked at the map again. Luna was leading the search for candidates and dementors.

When Captain Pearson had arrived at the Weyr, Harry had invited him into a meeting with the Wing Leaders and Seconds, plus Luna. That had been a mistake.

The man reminded Harry of a television show he had seen once. It was a comedy about a overly meticulous accountant who was constantly bumbling things outside of work.

Pearson had opened his briefcase and passed around several large maps that sectioned Britain into nice, neat pieces like a jigsaw puzzle. Then he launched into a lecture about differing search methodologies - grid searching, spiral, strip and zone - and how each method had their drawbacks.

After more than a hour of listening to the man, Luna smiled calmly and told him that he had obviously never had to search for Snorkacks before and that she intended to use an Inverse Nargle Search while incorporating the Wrackspurt Indexing Method. The riders, knowing Luna, marveled at her ability to say that with a straight face and not break out into a fit of giggles.

The man stared at her for a moment and she smiled prettily at him, then she leaned forward in her chair and patted him on the arm. "Just watch and see," she said brightly, then she walked from the room, leaving the riders struggling to hold back their laughter.

Katherine came to the rescue of her new assistant and eventually the meeting got back on track with Sirius and Remus charming a bunch of duplicates of the map. Since then, Luna's method seemed to hopscotch all over the country, but was producing some results. So far, she'd put together two lists of names, nearly four hundred in all, of normal children who could be presented as candidates and she had covered nearly a quarter of Britain. The lists were split by age, with two hundred and sixty under Harry's age limit. The remaining one hundred and forty were at the appropriate age.

Her lists were turned over to Sirius, who would coordinate with Spath to set some dragons watching each candidate. The dragons would watch the person in question for several days before deciding to pass the name to another list. That list would go to Lord Mills, who would turn it over to the office of the Prime Minister so each family could be investigated.

Luna's teams had also located three dementors and dealt with them directly without having to call out the weyr. Harry had given her and Trandieth strict orders not to attack any dementor unless the creature was alone. Each search team was made up of ten non-bonded dragons and one bonded pair.

The first dementor located was found traversing an open field. With no one present, Lee Jordan swooped down at the head of his group of dragons and flamed it to ash. He then spent another twenty minutes trying to find a public phone to call the Weyr. In his excitement, he had forgotten that he could have had his dragon speak to Chekiath directly. When asked, Sorenth had sheepishly admitted that he'd been too caught up in his rider's excitement.

The next day he was presented with a wooden box with a glass panel. Inside the box was an old mobile phone and the instructions on the glass read "In case of emergency, ask your dragon."

Lee took the ribbing in stride and decided to buy himself a working mobile phone. Very quickly all of the muggle riders took it upon themselves to buy phones. Having a dragon talk to another dragon was fine, but having a phone you could call home with and not tie up the Weyr phones was an attractive prospect.

Harry chuckled at the memory and then he leaned forward to reach for a piece of paper he needed to read.

"_Weyrleader?"_

He blinked in surprise. _"Trandieth?"_

"_Weyrleader, Luna says to tell you we have a problem."_

He sighed and braced himself. _"Explain please."_

After five minutes of listening to Trandieth, he shivered in fear, then he called Chekiath. "Cheki, call in all the dragons and inform the riders they are to draw a full weapons load out. We've found a pocket of dementors."

"_Right away, Harry,"_ Chekiath replied.

"_Trandieth, I know your team wants to deal with this, but the situation is too dangerous. Tell Luna I said to hold your position for now."_

Harry stood and quickly walked over to a large wall switch and threw it. Turning, he ran out the door, heading straight to James' office.

An alarm horn sounded across the Weyr and those riders present scrambled for their gear before running to their waiting dragons.

* * *

**Authors Notes and Mockeries:**

- Several have asked about Hogwarts and the folks back there. Well to be honest we won't see much of Hogwarts or the people left behind. We will see them, but not often. The story of the reconstruction of the Magical society is only a minor subplot at this point.

- One reader suggested muggle chemists try to determine what the active chemicals were in the dragon ingredients. Like Harry's going to allow them to cut up a dragon to get those parts? Not happening. Besides, wizarding society is STILL a secret. The Weyr might be preparing to go public, but they have no right to reveal magic to the world.

- To answer one question about selling of dragon dung. In the course of this story you will learn about three principle products that can be cultivated safely from dragons. Scales, dung and teeth, all of which have commercial value and will be sold in countries whose government are willing to agree dragons should be protected.

- To those people who pointed out some flaws in American geography, I'll answer with blame Harry for not knowing the lay of the land. He's British who barely knows his own country, let alone the US.

- I've had a lot of complaints about the longer update schedule. SCREW U! Heh... no really. Its like this, the first tale in this series was 18 chapters long and I barely managed to keep up with the weekly update. I am many chapters ahead, but with a weekly update staying completely ahead is difficult. I like having a three to four chapter ahead cushion. By extending the update schedule to 2 weeks instead of one, I'm better able to maintain that cushion. Also, I'll remind you all, you aren't paying me for this, so realistically you have no right to complain. :)

- Yes a gorilla, what can I say, someone wanted Hermione to play with Harry's banana.

- Wagstaff, the big bad was dead in the first few chapters of QWF. These stories are going to center around much bigger pictures than a simple little dark lord. In QWF Harry secured Britain and made it safer for the dragons. In WOD he'll have to start doing that elsewhere and deal with a worsening world wizarding problem and a slowly destabilizing international scene.

- There have been a lot of people that want to push to use more magic in the Weyr. We've even had one wahoo who suggested some bizarre tattooing protean charm thingie that turned dragon paws into hands so they could manipulate stuff. Ummm no. I've tried stating this nicely so now I'll be blunt. I am working on chapter thirteen and you're reading chapter two. That marvelous suggestion for Harry to become a dragon animagus just so you can see him do it with Momnarth isn't going to happen. And I'm going to laugh at you for suggesting it, then call you a pervert. You have a suggestion and honestly the odds of it being used are infinitesimally small. A lot of people who write fan fiction ask the readers what they want. I don't.

- Some have complained that I'm not posting over at fanfictionauthors and used the excuse of wanting to download for offline reading. Well you can still do that here. Look up fanfictiondownloader in google and you'll find a nifty little program that will pull a story down into one file and then convert it to the format you need. Or you can use Calibre if you need it in epub format. I personally use calibre to make the epub files for my tablet.

- A lot of people wanted to see the dragons deal with the Dursleys but that was never going to happen. Harry wanted to put that part of his past behind him. That the muggles finally stepped up to the plate was only a result of self interest on their part and the ire of her Majesty. Had the Dursleys raised Harry properly he wouldn't have been so independent in his thinking. As satisfying as it might have been to write a scene where Harry and a hundred dragons flame Privet Drive, I'm trying to keep this story "real" within it's fantasy context and destroying Privet Drive would have opened up legal hassles that I didn't want to deal with. For me it was simpler to allow the muggles to deal with it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob watched Alyx pace back and forth, muttering to herself. "What are you doing now?" he asked.

Alyx stopped mid pace and turned to him. "I'm working out plot points. I need to arrange for the evil Harry Potter to offer Prince Draco his who who for ransom, all the while threatening to feed the detached organ to a starved alligator."

"An alligator," Bob exclaimed incredulously. "in Scotland?"

"Of course not silly, Draco is a prince of Slobnovia," she retorted.

Bob arched an eyebrow. "And where is this mythical country?"

"Oh I moved a few countries around. Scotland is now where France is, France is now where Spain was, Spain has taken over Australia and Australia has moved into Canada's slot. Slobnovia is where Scotland used to be because the Scotts couldn't move their castles and Prince Draco needs a castle," Alyx replied airily.

Bob blinked and muttered to himself for a moment. "Scotland to France, France to Spain, Spain to Australia, Australia to Canada... wait a tic! Where did Canada go?"

"Buffalo New York, there aren't that many of them. I thought about letting them have Arizona, but I worried it would endanger the Gila monsters that live there," Alyx said happily. "Gila monsters don't like plaid you see."

"So Slobnovia has alligators?"

Alyx smiled wickedly, "They do now. Oh and don't waste any money at those Florida road side Gator attractions. Someone stole their alligators! Can you believe it?"

Bob shook his head. "What is this world coming to when your alligators aren't safe? Okay so you solved the alligator issue, have you made any progress on your disclaimer?"

Alyx turned and looked at him, her face paling. "Disclaimer?" she squeaked.

"You know, where we tell everyone we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern?" Bob prodded with a sinking heart.

"I'll get to it eventually," Alyx said, dismissing it as inconsequential. She had more important things to worry about. Slobnovia needed a native penguin population for the alligators to feed on!

Bob sighed and turned to the audience. "Sorry folks, you'll have to read the chapter without a disclaimer this time."

* * *

**The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.  
- George Bernard Shaw**

**Happy Smiles Daycare center, Leicester U.K., August 20th...**

The pair frowned as they entered the building. It was impossible to ignore the bone chilling effects, nor the sad feelings that swept over them.

The normally smiling receptionist looked up and scowled at the two men. She was in a foul mood and wasn't really interested in dealing with these strangers. She knew the parent of every child who attended daycare, but didn't know either of these men.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

She really couldn't help herself. Though she was unaware of it, dementors had settled on the building roof before the children had arrived and had been affecting everyone in the building since early morning.

One of the men frowned at her behavior, but both knew what was causing it. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small wallet containing his badge and photo ID. "I am Senior Inspector Hamilton and this is my partner, Inspector Forster. We're with CID, counter terrorist branch. Inform the manager of your facility that I need to speak with her right now."

While they were officially attached to CID Magical Section, the former Auror and Police Inspector felt that a more mundane identification would work better in this case. Both men were wizards and both men knew that death hovered over their heads. Despite being able to cast a patronus charm, they knew that they couldn't hold off the eight dementors on the roof.

It had been decided to evacuate the staff and children using normal methods. The children and adults could have been portkeyed or apparated, but then they would have had to be obliviated and obliviation on small children was dangerous. The younger the child, the more damaging the spell could be to their developing minds.

They had two goals here and they were somewhat in conflict with each other. The first goal was to evacuate the day care center of more than one hundred children and a sizable adult staff. The second goal was to keep the dementors from fleeing. If they scattered it would be harder to find them all.

The young woman blinked in surprise at the man's forceful tone, then she paled, seeing army vehicles pulling into the lot across from the day care center. Her view of the lot across the street through the plate glass doors emphasized the seriousness of the situation. With a trembling hand, she reached for her phone and punched a few buttons.

Outside a dozen army and police vehicles had pulled up and were unloading personnel. From the receptionist's vantage it was clear they were all focused on the building she was in!

Happy Smiles Day Care was a fairly new business in this location, but they had a solid reputation because they were part of a national chain. Because of that reputation, they were usually packed with children and had a long waiting list of parents eager to take advantage of the day care that tried hard to combine learning with fun. This building was typical for the franchise and had children in care ranging in age from eighteen months to five years old.

The receptionist spoke quietly into the phone, then she hung it up. "Inspectors, if you will follow me, please? Mrs. Holcomb said I was bring you straight into her office."

A short gray haired lady looked at the two men entering her office with suspicion. Any bad press would hurt the corporation she worked for, but if she allowed anything to happen to her charges, the public would hang her and destroy Happy Smiles forever.

"Gentlemen, my receptionist says you need to speak with me?" she said in a frosty tone.

Hamilton presented his badge again and her eyes widened. Her husband had been a police officer before he died of a heart attack and she knew an official ID when she saw one.

"Mrs Holcomb, our office has discovered that your center is in terrible danger."

"What? Why haven't I heard." she sputtered.

"Ma'am, please, if you would just look out your window?" said Forster quietly.

Holcomb stood and twisted the rod that opened the blinds to her office. She paled, seeing the army and police vehicles outside. The police were evacuating people from adjoining buildings while the army had already barricaded off the street.

She turned to the two men. "It's a bomb isn't it? Oh, the children!"

"Mrs. Holcomb!" snapped Hamilton. "Listen to me. We're going to do everything we can to get you and the children out of the building safely. There isn't a man out there who wants to see any harm come to these children."

Forster jumped in, using their cover story. "We suspect a radio detonated device, Ma'am. Even now, an RAF jamming aircraft is over the city, blanketing out all radio signals. The only working radio devices operating right now are ours."

Hamilton nodded. "What I need you to do is to quietly inform your staff that you'll be leaving the building in approximately thirty minutes. There will be three buses a short distance from the entrance. We need you to move the children quickly and quietly to the buses, then we'll move you away from the building. My partner and I will stay and help you move the children, but if we tell you to run, do so and urge the children to do so."

Holcomb looked faint and Forster moved up to place a hand on her shoulder. "Mrs Holcomb, getting you and the children out of here safely are our highest priority. As far as the government is concerned, the terrorists can blow up an empty building. It can be rebuilt, after all. But we cannot replace the children or your staff."

Overhead, a pair of RAF aircraft flew a circular pattern as part of the quickly assembled deception. The pilots had been ordered to orbit at a specific altitude, never knowing the ultimate in stealth flight orbited only a few thousand feet below them. The pilots had also been instructed to ignore the 'special operations unit' they saw in the skies below them. The dragons would become visible if the riders had to cast a Patronus charm.

The complex jamming electronics in each aircraft was designed to suppress enemy transmissions. In this case, it was being used to blanket any commercial broadcasts, including the frequencies used by a remote TV camera such as the type owned by the BBC or Sky News. The mobile phone network was also down, thanks to the jamming.

The Prime Minister had phoned the mayor of the city personally to inform him of what was happening and fact that the government was going to do everything they could to ensure the safety of the children. The mayor couldn't put up too much of a stink and he fervently prayed that when he finally got in front of a working microphone, it would be to report the safe evacuation of the building. As far as the mayor knew, the government was working feverishly to deal with a bona fide terrorist threat to his city.

Harry had rearranged the wings for this operation. He flew over the building with most of his magical riders in close formation. Above him by several hundred feet flew the rest of the riders, then the full complement of Campbeltown's dragons. The Weyr was taking no chances with this.

The unmanned wings would only become involved if it looked like any of the dementors were getting away.

On the ground, Remus and Sirius watched from an army Land Rover with Major Atkins. The buses wouldn't be moved into place until the army had cleared the civilians out of the area. The government was trying very hard to keep the dragons secret, which was why they were once again blaming the same middle eastern terrorist organization for this crisis.

The terrorist organization had refuted the government's claims for the June twenty second incident, and they found themselves in a unique position of no one believing them. It wasn't like they could demand a hearing on the issue.

After twenty minutes of whispered conversations, Mrs. Holcomb had managed to explain to her staff the problem. Knowledge of the problem however only served to increase the feeling of dread among the staff.

The children had been jittery and upset all day long and the staff had experienced an especially difficult day. No one on the staff understood that the dementors had been the cause of the dread they were now feeling and everyone was short tempered. The staff that normally dealt with the children three years old and younger had the added distraction of children that were upset and grumpy due to missed naps. The building was too cold and uncomfortable for sleep.

Mrs. Holcomb walked over to Inspector Hamilton. "We'll be ready in a few minutes. The staff are getting the kids ready to leave. The children have been told they are going for a bus ride to get some ice cream. That should keep them focused enough to get onto the buses."

Hamilton smiled. "Ma'am, if it'll help, I promise to personally buy the ice cream."

She smiled weakly at him and marveled at how much like her husband he was. Strong and so very caring about the people he had sworn to protect.

"I'll signal them that we're ready for the buses, then I'll go help the youngest children," Forster offered.

"That'll be Miss Melody's room, last door on the left. She has three assistants but her children are all basically toddlers. Most will have to be carried," Mrs. Holcomb said gratefully. There were more children than the four adults could easily move without help.

Forster nodded. "Thank you, Ma'am."

He turned and trotted towards the entrance where he stopped and stood just inside the glass doors. The building protected them from the dementors who couldn't enter. But it also trapped them inside. Evacuating the children was necessary. Accidents happen and there was no way to destroy the dementors without risking the chance that they might open a way into the building for the dementors to use.

For all the terror they generated and their fearsome abilities, dementors were physically weak creatures who were unable to catch their prey unless they were in the open. A locked door or a sealed room often kept the beasts at bay. They could push a door open, or turn a knob, but even the flimsiest of locks stymied them.

Forster waved at the cluster of land rovers just across the parking lot. A man standing close to one of the vehicles spotted him and waved back, then he turned to speak to someone inside the rover.

Harry began what seemed to be his six hundredth circuit of the block below. It was one of the tightest turns his dragon was capable of and still maintain flight. He kept one eye on the building with the dark figures floating just above the roof and one mental ear on the chatter from his riders. More than one rider complained that this flight pattern was making him sick and privately Harry had to agree.

"_The big cars are moving, Weyrleader,"_ announced Garanoth. The non-magical riders were about two hundred feet above them and flying in a broader pattern. They may take a few extra second to get onto the scene, but Harry and his wizards would be there first. Their job was to force the dementors away, while the non-magical riders dealt with them directly.

"_Everyone get ready. Do not cast your charm until you see me cast,"_ Harry sent. He had eight magical riders who had shown him they could cast a patronus charm using their dragon.

Down in front of Happy Smiles, three buses slowly motored up to the entrance and stopped. A group of nearly a dozen soldiers from the British Army's magical unit rushed across the street to help move the children.

The first twenty or so children and staff made it to the buses safely, then the dementors realized that their prey was escaping. The dementors surged for the edge of the roof hoping to head off their escaping prey.

"_Harry!"_ shouted Chekiath.

"Shit," he replied, then he placed a hand against Chekiath's neck. "Expecto Patronum!"

Chekiath burst into a blaze of white light as he fell upon the dementors that were rushing the children. Behind him eight other dragons lit up and followed him in that tight dive. The manned wings above bellowed in fury and joined their kin, diving towards the day care center and the loathsome beasts.

Harry struggled to ignore the voice of his mother pleading for his life. Below him, he could hear the screams of terrified children who didn't understand the invisible menace. Several were already overcome and prone on the ground by the full effect of the creatures.

The sound of the dragons bellowing in fury gave the dementors pause and they looked up. They recoiled and pulled back from the blazing dragons, scattering in every direction. They fled the front of the building, squealing in pain and anger at being denied an easy meal. Chekiath pulled up quickly and landed on the first bus. Chekiath roared another challenge as the other eight dragons settled around the daycare center entrance. The light from the charm filled the entire area, bathing it in the patronus effect.

So many dragons lit up with the charm created a 'safe zone' that no dementor would dare attempt to enter, even with the temptation of children to feed upon. Meanwhile children continued to stream out of the building with the help of the army, running towards the waiting buses.

Chekiath reared up and bellowed again just as the rest of the Weyr arrived. Garanoth swooped down and grasped a fleeing dementor and popped Between, while the rest of the dragons chased down the others and took them Between.

Harry kept a careful count and as soon as the last dementor was gone, he gave the order to retreat. The dragons had been visible in the skies of Leicester for just under one minute and then they were gone.

"Wow," Sirius said in shocked surprise as the light from the charmed dragons faded away. They all knew about the dragons being used to channel the patronus, but this was the first time they'd witnessed it. The effect of the spell cast on the already magical dragons left them all in awe and more than a bit aroused. The patronus was most effective when it was cast with a loving memory and that feeling hit everyone caught in their range.

"Yeah, wow," Katherine said with a slight pant. She reached over and gripped Sirius' hand tightly and gave him a gentle smile.

Remus looked at the pair and shook his head in amusement. He could clearly see and smell the arousal on the two sitting in the front seat.

"Well, I think I'll go over to the buses and hand out these chocolates," he offered.

"You do that," Katherine said softly, "I'll make sure Sirius is safe."

Sirius nodded and Remus chuckled. He exited the rover and walked over to the first bus. In his hands he had a large bag with chocolate bars from Honeydukes to hand out to everyone that had been close to the dementors. "Safe?" he said with a chuckle, "I can't wait til I get back to the Weyr so I can be safe too."

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, August 21st...**

Harry shuffled into the hall and absently poured himself a cup of tea before taking a seat. Yesterday had been exhausting for everyone and it showed. When they came home most of the riders retired to their own Weyrs, while Harry had to stay up to deal with problems and issues generated by yesterday's action.

Dragons from around the world questioned him concerning dementors. They were not limited to the United Kingdom and Harry ended up spending several hours discussing dementors while broadcasting to the dragons around the world.

Physically it hadn't been all that difficult or different than any other day, but emotionally it was a powerfully charged event that rippled across the Weyr and beyond. Harry had gotten to bed later than his riders and his sleep was disturbed as it often was after a dementor encounter.

He sipped his tea and half dozed at the table when a voice shook him from his stupor.

"Harry?"

He blinked and looked around before spotting Lord Mills standing nearby. "James. I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked if I could join you. What time did you get to sleep? You still look exhausted," James said worriedly.

"It was late," Harry said, waving him toward a chair. "I won't say that dementors frighten dragons but they were very upset by the creatures," he paused and looked thoughtful. "I guess it makes sense. The dementors can take away their ability to reason. Lord knows that would scare anyone. A lot of the dragons around the world wanted to know what we were going to do with the creatures so I spent a great deal of time explaining last night. While we're dealing with them here, there are still dementors in other countries."

James nodded. "I think you should rest today, but I wanted to tell you that Her Majesty and the Prime Minister both want to thank you and your dragons for yesterday. With your permission, the Queen would like to visit on the twenty sixth."

Harry looked at him blankly for a moment, then grinned ruefully. "This is one of those times when I'm the public face for the dragons, right?"

James chuckled, "Right in one, lad, but she really does want to thank your riders and dragons. You averted a disaster yesterday. I'm very pleased to say that there were no injuries."

Harry shrugged. "I'll let the riders know and we'll spruce the place up a bit. We've been rather sloppy at Hangar two lately. How did things go otherwise?"

James smiled. "We didn't quite clear out as well as we thought and the PM's office had to lean on the press and BBC, but they agreed not to publish the videos they took. The staff of the day care center all agreed to cooperate, as did the parents of the children. Mrs. Holcomb, the manager of the center, asked if the dragons could come back to visit the children if their existence becomes know to the public.

"The PM thinks the dragons secret is getting too difficult to keep. We may see an announcement to the public sooner than with originally thought. I'd be surprised if we can keep it for another year."

Harry looked surprised, then smiled at the thought of meeting the children. He remembered Chekiath being surrounded by small children at Maziang and considered how such an image would help solidify their position.

Seeing Harry's gentle smile, James asked him what he was thinking about.

He blushed and looked down for a moment. "I was thinking about Maziang and how the children there loved our dragons. I suppose it's wrong of me to consider using people, especially children, but it struck me that an image of small children meeting with a dragon would send a powerful message, wouldn't it?"

James smiled slightly. "It would, indeed. But how would it be using people? Luna showed me a photo she took of the children at Maziang swarming over Trandieth, who laid there rumbling and content. It was an amazing image and it really showed the close relationship that can exist between humans and dragons.

"I'm actually very pleased that it occurred to you, lad. You need to think about your people and what can be done to improve their lives and positions. Soon, not this year, but certainly by next year, the world will know about dragons and will want to know more about them. Public relations is more than just making yourself look good, Harry. It's about creating a feeling or image that springs to mind when you think about something.

"In my youth, if someone mentioned the Coke Cola company, I immediately remembered a commercial they made with hundreds of people my age singing. They were trying to sell the idea that we might be all from different countries, but we were all still just people. It was a subtle way of marketing their product and it worked very well for them. I still smile every time I hear 'I'd like to teach the world to sing'."

Harry took a swallow of his drink. "So, what's the answer? Prime Minister Major has a press secretary and a special office for handling the press. Should we do something similar?"

James leaned back, surprised by Harry's question. It really wasn't an unreasonable idea. The Queen was already considering what would happen when the dragons became public knowledge. "Let me ask a few people, Harry. It's an interesting issue and perhaps we can help you some. I know you'd prefer a rider to handle the position, but learning what the job entails definitely requires some professional help."

Harry nodded and looked around. While he'd been talking to James the hall had filled with riders and other Weyr personnel. He saw Lisa sitting in the corner reading a book and smiled. The girl had failed to impress, but she had requested to stay at the Weyr. She was now deep in her books, studying healer spells and trying to help Doctor Sheppard as much as possible.

Katie Bell and Hermione also helped at the clinic, but their wing duties cut into their free time. Lisa had no dragon to care for and no real duties, so her helping at the clinic solved the problem of what to do with her. Harry fervently hoped she'd impress at the next hatching.

Harry stood and walked to the front of the room. Slowly the noise subsided as people noticed him.

"Good morning," he said quietly. "First off, thanks to your efforts, not a single child was injured yesterday and eight more dementors were destroyed, leaving only two still to find. Each of you should be proud of that. I know I am proud of it, and of you. Lord Mills informs me that because of your efforts, the Queen will be visiting us on the twenty sixth of this month.

"I was going to ask you all relax today, but given the Queen's visit, I think we should assemble in Hangar Two after breakfast and spend the morning cleaning up the place. After lunch, you're on your own. Luna, let's plan on restarting your search the day after the Queen's visit."

He paused for a moment, then he looked around. "Since the Wizarding world knows about dragons and doesn't know about us, I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to invite Luna's father here to cover the Queen's visit, and perhaps do an article about dragon riders."

Remus looked up from his breakfast, surprised at the suggestion He had been considering suggesting it himself for the past few days. "It would make searching on the magical side easier, Harry. If people understood what being a rider was all about, they might be more likely to go along with a son or daughter being tapped as a candidate," he offered.

"My thoughts exactly," Harry replied, then turned to Luna, "What do you think? Would your father be agreeable?"

She smiled at him. "Daddy would love to do a story about dragons and the Queen, but I think it would be best if I write the article about being a rider. Daddy tends to get a little fanciful with his reporting when he doesn't have first hand experience."

Several of the riders turned to stare and Luna and wondered what she could possibly consider fanciful.

**Campbeltown Weyr, August 23rd...**

Sirius bounced out of bed when he heard the pounding on his door. From the outside he could hear dragons bellowing in alarm. It was late and someone was waking up the Weyr in a big way.

"What the devil," he muttered and he quickly threw on a robe.

Katherine lifted her head from the bed. "Siri? What's going on?"

"Damned if I know. The dragons seem upset about something," he muttered.

Sirius charged out of the bedroom, followed by Katherine, who was hurriedly putting on a robe. He strode up to the door and threw it open. "WHAT?" he shouted, then he blinked in surprise.

Sirius stopped and stared at Harry, who seemed to be in a panic.

"I can't find him, Siri!" he shouted.

"Harry?"

"_I found him, Harry. He's in his quarters!"_ Chekiath announced excitedly.

Harry stopped and turned to stare up the street. "Don't let him get out. Surround the building with dragons. If he tries to get out, stop him, but be careful not to hurt him!" he shouted, then took off running in the direction of Remus' house.

Sirius took one look at the number of dragons landing on top of and around Remus' cottage and he muttered. "Oh, lord."

"Siri?" asked Katherine.

"Come on. I told Remus to tell Harry about the new treatment, but he didn't!" He took off, leaving a bewildered Katherine standing in the doorway. "Harry! Wait!" he shouted.

The front door of Remus' house started to open and a dragon shot a stream of fire across the door.

"Harry!" shouted Sirius, "Stop!"

Harry stood outside of the cottage looking at Sirius strangely. Around him, riders were assembling and someone had thought to grab several bows and bandoliers, which they were handing out.

Sirius grimaced. "Harry, stop," he repeated as he ran to his godson's side.

Harry scowled. "Sirius, it's a full moon!" he protested.

He placed a hand on his shoulder, planning to explain the new treatment to Harry, when a voice shouted from inside the cottage.

"What the hell is going on out there?"

"Remus?" Harry said in a shocked voice, he was looking over Sirius' shoulder towards the surrounded house.

Sirius looked at Harry, then he glanced around noting most of the riders were now present and several of Katherine's security team were nervously fingering their weapons.

"It's okay folks. It's all a big misunderstanding. You can all go back to bed," he said to everyone.

"Can I open the door without someone trying to cook me?" asked Remus.

Sirius looked at Harry who's confused expression was too much and he started to laugh. Slowly people started to walk away, but it was clear that they would be demanding an explanation tomorrow.

The door slowly opened and Remus poked his head out, looking more than a little upset.

"_Harry, should I flame him?"_ asked Chekiath uncertainly. _"He doesn't seem to be out of control."_

Harry stared at Remus for a moment, then he shook his head. "Er... no, I don't think it will be needed Cheki. But if I don't start getting some answers soon I'm going to give my permission to use this cottage as a new place to deposit dragon dung!"

Sirius nodded and strode to the door and opened it fully. Moony stood in his robe, looking bewildered. Much to Sirius' pleasure, so did a rumpled looking Mildred O'Connor! He smirked at the pair and motioned for Harry to follow him.

Harry turned to his dragon. "Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll catch up with you later."

Chekiath bobbed his head and turned away. Their place was nearby and it was easier to walk the short distance than to fly it.

Harry stepped into the cottage and looked around. Katherine and Sirius were both trying very hard not to laugh, while both Remus and Mildred looked like a pair of kids that had been caught stealing cookies.

"Imagine my surprise," Harry said flatly, "when I came off of first shift night patrol, thinking to stop by the bunker to spend time with Remus, only to discover the door open and the bunker empty. Five other nearby bunkers had werewolves who seemed to be sleeping, but Remus wasn't among them."

Sirius gave Remus a pointed look. He'd had been pushing Remus to tell Harry about the treatments and Remus hadn't wanted to because he didn't want Harry to get his hopes up.

Harry turned to Remus with a hard look on his face. "How is this possible?" he asked flatly.

"It's part of that treatment program we told you about, Harry," explained Remus. "It's only experimental and I didn't want you to get your hopes up."

"They have a way of stopping your transformation and you didn't think it was worth telling me?" Harry asked. It was impossible to miss the hurt in his voice.

Sirius looked up sharply. The elements of humor in this were quickly evaporating in the face of Harry's reaction. He considered both men family and not being told about this treatment highlighted the fact that he really wasn't family with either of them.

"Harry," Remus said.

Harry held up a hand, his expression became a stony mask. "No, it's all right, Remus. I understand completely."

"Dammit Remus," Mildred said angrily, then she stepped forward and grabbed Harry by the arm, pulling him towards Remus. "This is not going to end this way. Remus, he considers you family. We've all tried to explain that by not telling him about the treatment you're sending the wrong message entirely."

She turned to Harry, who was staring at the floor. "Harry, he just didn't want you to get your hopes up. He knew you were so disappointed when we found out it was rabies." She reached out and gently lifted his chin, unsurprised by the tears that were present. People tended to forget that Harry, for all his outward confidence as Weyrleader, was still a fifteen year old boy with no family of his own.

Remus seemed startled by the tears in Harry's eyes and he stepped forward. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Remus, Harry is our family," Sirius said quietly. "When someone speaks about their family, you and I are the first people that come to his mind. I know it's hard for you to accept. You've been on the outside for most of your life. But you were _never_ on the outside with James and I. Lily wanted you to be Harry's godfather, but the law wouldn't permit it. And you know if she were here now she'd be smacking you for thinking you're still an outcast."

Remus' eyes filled with tears to match Harry's. The mention of Lily hit him hard. James and Sirius were like brothers, co-conspirators in crime. But Lily had figured out his problem in her first year and had confronted him about it. She treated him at first like a close friend, and then ultimately like a sibling.

Remus nodded jerkily and pulled Harry into a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Too overwhelmed to speak, all Harry could do was nod against his shoulder. Mildred smiled and stepped away from the pair, she gave Sirius a grateful look.

Harry and Remus had a whispered conversation, then Harry nodded and gave him a weak grin.

Embarrassed, he pulled away from the older man. "I guess I'll turn in," he murmured and walked out the front door.

Remus watched him go, then he ran a hand through his hair and took a noisy breath. "I really mucked that up," he muttered.

"You did," Sirius agreed, "but it also looked like you managed to fix it. We see Harry talking to the Prime Minister and the Queen and commanding thousands of dragons, and we forget for all that, he's still only fifteen. Harry is still growing up, but he's still a boy who was denied a family's love. I don't expect him to be as awesome as I was at fifteen, of course, but with a little luck and a lot of help, he'll be close!"

Remus gave Sirius a pointed look. He remembered well the panicked, tear ridden Sirius who had been thrown out of his home by his mother. He also remembered the day Charlus Potter came to Hogwarts and spoke intently to Sirius, who broke down in tears again after discovering the Potters were willing to take him into their home and their hearts.

Remus shook his head. "It's a good thing too. Unlike you, Harry has a head on his shoulders and a clear sense of responsibility. I'll arrange to spend some extra time with Harry. We don't have enough time together as it is and that's been an oversight on my part that I intend to remedy as soon as possible."

Mildred made a show of wiping her forehead in relief. "Good. Can we go back to bed now? It's nearly three in the morning."

Sirius' eyes lit up. "Yes, about that. Since when did you two start sharing blankies?"

Mildred turned to Sirius. "Get out. Now," she said flatly. She glanced at Katherine, then arched an eyebrow when she noted the curiosity in the other woman's eyes.

"Okay, don't get shirty, we're going," Sirius said, then he reached for Katherine's hand and tugged her toward the door.

With the others finally gone, Mildred turned to Remus, who still looked thoughtful.

"I really messed things up didn't I?" he asked.

"That depends," she replied.

He glanced up at her. "What?"

"Remus, this can go one of two ways. You can use the opportunity to strengthen your bond with Harry, or you can do nothing and it will weaken your relationship. What you do from here will determine if you messed this up or not."

He nodded. "Yes, I can see that," he said with a sigh. "but there's nothing more to be done tonight. Let's go back to bed."

She nodded and took his hand.

**Ministry of Magic, Office of the Deputy Minister, August 25th...**

O'Hearny glanced up and smiled, seeing Albus walk in with a bright smile of his own. "You're looking awful chipper, Albus. Some good news?"

"Actually, yes. As you know, I tracked down John Tuscany Senior and managed to arrange a meeting with him at the Swiss Ministry. Given that the previous administration wanted to extradite the entire Tuscany family back to Britain, the Swiss were naturally cautious and wanted the meeting to occur under controlled circumstances."

O'Hearny leaned forward in his chair. "And?"

"Once Tuscany was convinced that I wasn't there to kidnap him, he told me about the warding schema used on their townhouse. It was an old Gnome warding scheme combined with some goblin elements."

He paused and nodded to Croaker, who had just entered. "Alejandro, I was just telling Sir William about the warding schema used by the Tuscany family."

Croaker sat at his desk and looked at Albus with interest. "So it was a ward? I thought it might be! That kind of blast is only managed with multiple wizards, or with some of the more dangerous wards."

Albus nodded. "As it turns out, this particular schema was erected during the middle of the last century. It was a collaborative effort between the Swiss Gnomes and the Gringotts Goblins. The last two wards were the cause. The Gnomes put a core collector next to a suicide ward."

Croaker winced. "Ouch. Well, that explains it."

"Explains what? I don't understand," complained Sir William.

"It's simple, Sir William. The house was originally built on a plot of land with no other homes around it. As such, it was warded accordingly. A core collector ward is benign and nearly undetectable. Its sole purpose is to provide power to the next ward, usually something like a bunker ward, which is just a shield. A core collector will eventually burn out, but while it's running, it feeds power from the attacking wizards to the next ward. In this case, the ward was meant to destroy the home and kill everyone inside. A suicide ward is exactly what it sounds like. It's meant to prevent the people inside the ward from falling into the hands of the enemy. Mind you, this ward is very old and was used at a time when people were routinely captured and tortured before being killed," Albus said.

Croaker nodded. "The kicker is, those two wards aren't supposed to be adjacent to each other. The collector overpowered the suicide ward and we ended up with a massive explosion."

"According to Tuscany, before heading to their bolt hole, he activated a last ditch ward that was supposed to destroy the building. In fact, he had to dig through their vaults to find a detailed explanation of the schema, which I personally examined. Those two wards had been put in place back in 1846 by his grandfather, shortly after the house was built. At that time, there wasn't another house within five hundred yards."

Albus sighed, then he looked at O'Hearny, "The Tuscany family were appalled by the devastation and the injuries caused by the Ministry. Even though they can make a case for self defense, they are willing to help as much as they can.

"To that effect, John Tuscany has told me that he is willing to donate one third of their family wealth to a fund to aid the victims of the disaster, as well as other ministry victims. I told him I was not authorized to accept such a thing, but I would convey the message to you."

Sir William looked surprised. "How much are they offering?"

"Some thirty four million galleons," Albus said quietly.

Sir William sat back and thought for a minute while the other two men watch him. The Goblins were still pretty much in charge of the value of the galleon, but the money in pounds was very substantial.

"We would be hard pressed to make a case against the Tuscany's, wouldn't we?" asked Sir William.

"Yes. The wards were put in place long before any of them were born, and even if they hadn't been, John was rightly concerned about his children and grandchildren. There were six sons, two daughters, nineteen grandchildren and in-laws he was protecting. On the other hand, they were being attacked by a ministry we've already declared illegal," Croaker replied.

"I say take them up on their offer, Sir William, and let them know they are welcome to return to Britain. To be honest, John Senior was part of the large neutral block in the Wizengamot and we could use a man of his caliber back in the country, helping us rebuild."

Sir William nodded. "Very well. Craft up a letter to that effect. Ask him to seriously consider returning to help us rebuild and I'll sign it. I can't see us blaming them for something the old ministry caused. And I certainly don't want to start hunting for people to pin blame on!"

"No, there's enough of that to spread around," Croaker said. "Our biggest problem is motivating people to actually take a stand. I'm afraid Potter had it spot on when he called the common wizard and witch sheep."

Sir William chuckled darkly. His experiences with the Weyrleader had left the impression of a very honest, unyielding and dour young man. Certainly not a person he'd want any of his granddaughters to meet.

**Campbeltown Weyr, August 26th...**

Harry smiled as he watched Major Atkins check over her company for the fifth time in as many minutes. The woman who seemed to exude calm confidence most of the time was in an absolute panic over the fact that the Queen would be arriving to meet with the dragons again and to thank them for their efforts in saving the children at the day care center.

Harry had the Weyr turned out and lined up. The Queen and her consort were due to arrive any moment. They had called ahead just a few minutes ago stating they were only a few miles away.

Hagrid stood with Selanth not far from Narth, who was still recovering from his injuries. The broken leg hadn't healed well and the dragon walked with a noticeable limp, even if he had no real pain. It had been discussed among the Weyr Council and Harry decided to allow Narth to make the choice if he wanted to return to duty at the castle. Harry intended that he be placed on limited duty so he wouldn't have to tax his leg too much.

Even with the splints, the bone had shifted slowly as it healed, resulting in a limp for the dragon. Hagrid and May were trying to find a way of splinting a dragon limb that ordinary humans could apply. Right now, only Hagrid had the strength to tie a splint that wouldn't allow for the break to shift. Casting was an option, but the logistics were a bit daunting.

Not far from Harry Albus Dumbledore stood with Sir William, Croaker and the Prime Minister.

A radio blared and Katherine spoke into it for a moment, then she turned to Sergeant Nichols and nodded.

"Company, attention!" Nichols shouted.

"_Wake up, guys,"_ Harry sent to the dragons, knowing they would tell their riders. _"It's time to play politics."_

The riders scrambled into position next to their dragons and gave themselves a quick look over just as a motorcade of cars came around the corner of the main administration building.

The cars slowed slightly in front of the building, no doubt to look at the latest addition to the Weyr. Two flags flew outside of the administration building and one had been the source of some controversy. The British flag flew as it had for years at this air base, but next to it, and at the same height, was a flag designed by May and Karen Khan and approved by near unanimous vote of the riders. It was pure white field with a silhouette of a dragon and rider in flight.

The flag itself wasn't as much of an issue as the fact that Harry had extended the second flagpole so the two flags were of equal height. Lord Mills had patiently explained to him that the flag was supposed to be lower than the British flag, but Harry had replied that that wasn't the case for a sovereign nation. The Queen was visiting dragon territory and the Weyr honored their visitors by flying the visiting country's flag next to theirs, rather than below it.

James looked aghast at Harry pronouncement and Sirius started howling with laughter.

Harry was asserting his idea that the dragons were a nationality. He was taking a risk and everyone knew it. Campbeltown still belonged to the British. For the moment, there was no dragon nation except in some secret memos from the Prime Minister's office.

The limousines came to a stop near Major Atkins and her company. Several men exited from the lead car and the last car, taking up positions around the Queen's limousine, then they looked around nervously. Five hundred and thirty five dragons were an imposing sight on the ground and in the air. Harry was certain each of those security men were assessing their weapons against so many dragons and not liking the odds.

A man stepped out of the Queen's limousine and held the door open as the Queen stepped out.

"_Harry, Wolf says the man is the Lord Steward, Viscount Ridley. Remus says he is a very important __person to the Lady Holder,"_ Spath offered.

Harry nodded and kept his smile fixed in place. The Queen stepped from the car followed by Prince Philip, her consort, who had been absent when the Weyr went to Balmoral to meet with the Queen the first time.

A small stage had been set up with some chairs and a public address system so everyone could hear the Queen. She took the arm of her consort and he led her up the short steps to the stage. She glanced over towards the administration building and noted the flag with interest, then she turned and smiled at Harry, who stood in front of the three wings of riders.

Chekiath took one step forward. _"Lady Holder, the Weyr is honored by your visit."_

The Queen smiled at Chekiath and walked over to the microphone. "Thank you for your gracious welcome, Chekiath. We will keep our comments here brief, as we would much prefer to see for ourselves what you have done here. Weyrleader, please attend me."

Harry nervously climbed up on the stage and stood next to the Queen, who smiled at him.

"On two separate occasions the Weyr has placed itself in harms way in order to protect our subjects. On one of those occasions, dragons were lost trying to protect others.

"We watched as the Weyr mourned one of their own and then later, learned of their bravery in helping rescue over one hundred children from the dementors. We have not known about dragons long but in that incredibly short time the dragons have shown us friendship and an eagerness to not only help, but to protect and defend those in need that is only ever found amongst our most stalwart allies."

The Lord Steward stepped up behind the Queen, opened a briefcase and turned it toward her.

She took a small rectangular box from the briefcase. "Weyrleader," she said, turning to face him, "we would like to show our most heartfelt appreciation to you and your dragons."

She handed him the ornate box and he looked down at it curiously.

"Within is the George Cross. It is usually given to a civilian for bravery of the highest order. We grant this award posthumously to the dragon known as Ranglieth, who lost his life trying to save innocent lives placed in harms way by the rebellious Ministry of Magic. Similar awards have been commissioned for the dragons lost in the battle beneath Gringotts and will be presented by our Deputy Minister of Magic."

"_Dragons,"_ Spath said, _"the lady Holder honors us! These tiny pieces of metal are signs of her appreciation and high regard. She honors us as she would a human."_

Harry looked stunned for a moment, then he smiled. He was glad that Spath understood the significance of the gesture and explained it to the Weyr. He was also glad that Spath had not been broadcasting, but speaking only to the dragons. "On behalf of Ranglieth and his Weyr, we are honored to accept this, Ma'am. It shall hold a place of honor among us for as long as the Weyr survives."

The dragons were silent for a moment, then Chekiath started thrumming with approval. Soon, every dragon in the Weyr was thrumming. It was a sound that could be felt in the bones. The Queen looked to Harry for an explanation.

"It's the dragon form of clapping, Ma'am," Harry said quietly.

The Queen smiled, then reached for another box. She held it up for all to see and the dragons fell silent again. "This George Cross is awarded to Narth, leader of the castle dragon guard who was seriously injured in the battle at Balmoral Castle. His life was forever altered by his injuries, but we sincerely hope he will return to Balmoral and make it his home. We have authorized a place to be constructed for the dragon guard to sleep and wish it known that Narth is always welcome at Balmoral. For centuries his kin have flown our skies. Now it is time for him to be welcomed on our grounds."

As Narth limped forward, the Queen extracted the medal, which had been placed on an extra long ribbon. The large dragon didn't come onto the stage, but he was easily able to crane his long neck up so that the Queen and Prince Philip could place the award over his head as the rest of the Weyr signaled their approval. Narth's head was large and it took two people to place the ribbon around his neck.

"_Thank you, Lady Holder. I would like to return to Balmoral. I have flown over it many times in my life and it is nice to know I can finally visit without fear,"_ Narth said.

"You will always be welcome, Narth," the Queen replied. "We confess that we greatly missed our conversations while you were recovering."

Narth bobbed his head, accepting the compliment. _"I missed them as well, Lady Holder."_

Harry stepped forward when the Queen did and he affectionately slapped the dragon's neck. "If you wish, Narth, we'll make up something so you can hang your medal on the wall of your stall," Harry said quietly.

The dragon stalls were devoid of any decorations and Narth's medal would trigger a flurry of requests from the other dragons for photos and other items to hang from their walls. The bonded dragons had already taken to decorating their stalls, but Narth would be the first non-bonded dragon to do so. Dragons did not appreciate human abstract art, but photos, pictures of friends and other decorative items would soon make their way into the dragon stalls.

The Queen gave one final smile to Narth, then he backed away and she turned to the Lord Steward and withdrew two more medal cases. She returned to the microphone and looked at the assembled riders. "Traditionally, these medallions are granted to individuals for outstanding acts of bravery. In a few rare instances, they have been granted to several people for the same incident.

"In issuing an award to a rider, we realized that the rider is part of a pair who cannot be easily separated. Weyrleader, would you and your dragon step forward please?"

Harry looked stunned and the dragons increased the sound of their thrumming approval. Chekiath came up to the foot of the stage.

"It is hard to define all that the Weyrleader has done, for his dragons and for our country. When the time comes for dragons to become public knowledge, we intend to add his name and some diverse others to the honors list. But for now, this will do."

She handed the boxes to Harry. "Since last November, when you were forced into an illegal contest, you have faced adversity and pushed forward, never faltering. Your bravery saw you willing to pit yourself against an entire race of wizards, alone if need be. Your willingness to work with us and aid us when the rebellious nature of the Ministry of Magic was revealed cannot be forgotten. Your selfless acts in protecting our person at Balmoral and again in saving the children of Leicester are the mark of a true friend to the British nation."

The riders started cheering and both Harry and Chekiath blushed.

The Queen waited until the cheering stopped and she smiled down at the riders. "In the coming months we shall see many changes, and soon the dragons will be known to the rest of humanity. That is inevitable. Since the very beginning, the Weyrleader has rightly pushed for a limited form of autonomy, which cannot be granted without more people knowing about dragons.

"We have spoken with our Prime Minister and with the leaders of the opposition parties, informing them about dragons and our desires in the matter. In the interests of maintaining cordial relations, we have reached an agreement."

She turned to the briefcase and removed a scroll, which she then held out to Harry. "With this writ, I, Elizabeth, Queen and The Lady Holder, cede this land, in perpetuity, to the dragons, so they may always call it home. We recognize the race of creatures we call dragons to be as intelligent and self aware as any human and accord them all rights and privileges accorded therein."

Harry, shocked to the core, numbly accepted the scroll from the Queen. He had been sure it would take years of prodding for this sort of thing to happen. He bowed to the Queen. "On behalf of the dragons of Earth, I thank you, Your Majesty."

The dragons suddenly bellowed their approval and for a moment no one could hear over their trumpeting happiness.

When the noise finally settled down, the Queen turned to Harry again. "Now, Weyrleader, why don't you show us around your Weyr? We would like very much to see and hear about your plans."

When Queen stepped down from the stage and approached Katherine, who responded with a text book salute, Chekiath dismissed the Weyr. Many of the dragons went back to their stalls in the hangars, but the three manned wings had other orders. The wizarding riders went to Hangar Two for their morning lessons, while several others scattered to their various tasks. A good number of the regular riders headed over to the firing range to work on their skills.

Harry had told the riders that he wanted them doing their jobs, even if it meant just going to class.

Harry waited patiently while the Queen performed an inspection of the military police who kept security at the Weyr. Once she had finished, he led the Queen on an exhausting tour. She stopped and spoke with a number of the dragons in the infirmary and Hagrid proudly showed off their invention of the bandage paste, as well as several of the other innovations they had come up with to help treat ill dragons.

From Hangar Seven, Harry led her past the other hangers where most of the dragons slept. He pointed out the area where they were planning on bringing in mobile homes to house new riders come December and they paused and watched as several pairs of dragons made firing runs on the flight firing range.

All throughout the tour, Harry emphasized how they were spending their time between classes and adapting to the needs of the dragons. He also had help from Remus and Sirius, who spoke of other alternative jobs that the riders could do rather than concentrating on hot rock production.

Five hours later, Harry trudged into the Kitchen Hall, mentally exhausted. The Queen hadn't been an easy visitor. She asked a lot of difficult questions that Harry felt obliged to answer. He found himself having to call in one or more riders to explain something to Her Majesty more often that he would have with any other visitor. She had a very sharp mind and rarely missed details. Her questions were insightful and sometimes difficult to answer.

When she examined the Book of the Weyrs, she listed details about the governments and people that could help them. She also had an interesting request which surprised him greatly.

_The Queen slowly closed the Book of the Weyrs and for a moment she ran her hand over the binding. The book was kept on a special stand in the main classroom area of Hangar Two. She looked up at the huge wall map with pins marking the location of the Weyrs, then she turned to Harry.  
_

"_Weyrleader, autonomy places you and your people in a precarious position. A great many countries will recognize the need for autonomy and allow for it, like we do. The United States is an example of that. Some will be open to the idea, once they have had it explained to them. A few, however, will be openly hostile to the idea of dragons or will not want to grant autonomy because they feel it would undermine their authority._

"_We would like to propose something, but we do not wish for you to get the impression we are trying to influence you and your decisions," she said._

_Harry nodded, he knew she was being very serious. "Ma'am, I would never."_

_He trailed off when she held up her hand. "To be truthful, Weyrleader, it is in our best interest to try to influence some of your decisions. That is the nature of relationships at the national level. My Prime Minister made a suggestion and we found it has merit. We would like to introduce you to someone who you could talk to about political issues and diplomacy. Prime Minister Major suggested that it would be to your benefit, and ours, if you received some instruction in such subjects."_

"_Ma'am, I'm confused. How would this be influencing my decisions?" asked Harry._

_The Queen smiled. "Some will perceive it as such, Weyrleader. People will say that the Weyr is beholden to Britain and will follow British policies. Others will say that we instructed you in a manner which reflects our own policies. We both know that isn't true Weyrleader, but the press and others will read motives into your actions that do not exist."_

_The Queen moved to sit at one of the desks and she motioned for Harry to join her. _

_He took a seat facing her and he thought carefully. "I think I could only profit from such lessons, Ma'am. I find myself making decisions that affect people and it is very uncomfortable. When we start talking to other countries, I'm sure it's going to get worse."_

_The Queen nodded. She had been told he would probably have this reaction. The Weyrleader is still learning what his job entails. It was a first for humanity and there was no one who could show Harry how to be The Weyrleader. "We will tell the Prime Minister that you would be willing to meet with someone. While we have no doubt that your tutor will be well versed in our form of diplomacy, take what you learn and balance it against the needs of your dragons and your riders."_

_Harry nodded and made no attempt to hide the look of relief in his expression. The Queen glanced at her watch and stood. "The day moves on and we still have another stop to make today."_

_Harry looked a little disappointed, then he nodded. "We had hoped you'd be able to take a late lunch with us Ma'am, but perhaps another time?"_

_The Queen smiled. "Another time, Weyrleader. We will look forward to it."_

Harry sat at an empty table and opened his list of things to do. He crossed several items from the list, then adding another concerning lessons in diplomacy and politics. He was staring at the list when a voice startled him.

"Are you going to eat that or are you just going to push it around your plate?"

He looked up to see May, Hermione, Mariah and several other girls standing with their trays in hand. "Erm... I was going to eat some of it," he admitted, looking down at the food.

"What has you so distracted?" asked Mariah.

Harry looked up from his untouched plate. "The Queen suggested sending someone here who could tutor me in politics and diplomacy. I guess I'm just sort of wondering where I'm going to find the time."

"Harry, your job is only going to get easier, you know," Luna said.

Harry turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Luna gestured to the notebook that he carried everywhere. "You keep track of everything in that book of yours, even stuff that you no longer need to keep track of. For example, Susan has been working to bring in more housing for the new riders, since many of the older buildings are unsuitable or unsafe. You know that, but I'll bet you have a bunch of entries in your book about it."

"Luna," Harry said in a pained tone, "I know Susan is taking care of that. The entries are there to remind me to find out how she's doing with it."

Luna nodded. "I realize that, but you treat every entry as if you had to personally see to it. Soon we'll have more riders and that means more people to do the tasks. You will find you have the time, you always do. Every time something new pops up, you worry over it, but you always manage to find the time to take care of it."

Susan put down her sandwich and grinned at him. "I had worried about finding places for new riders. The old housing is in sad shape. The buildings range anywhere from twenty to nearly fifty years old and some of the older buildings are falling apart. The newer buildings can be repaired, but the older ones are going to have to be removed. Then I saw the containers they use to bring Narth and the others back from Balmoral. They will solve our problem nicely."

Harry frowned. "Susan, those aren't exactly cheap. This isn't the case of spending forty thousand pounds on a greenhouse. And we'll need what? Forty or fifty of them?"

"Twenty," Susan said firmly. "Repairing the unused housing will take care of the rest. But Karen told me it wasn't a problem. I know what they cost."

Harry leaned a little across the table and looked at where Karen was sitting with a smug grin on her face. "Karen?"

She smiled. "Lord Mills told me that the government felt it wasn't right to risk the dragons on getting rid of the dementors, so they've decided to label us as contractors. Each dementor had a one million pound bounty on it."

Harry leaned back in his seat and looked stunned. "So we have?"

"Just a hair shy of fifteen million in the bank. I daresay we can afford some new housing. And we still haven't dealt with the dementors at the prison."

He nodded slowly, then he opened his notebook and added a couple entries.

Across the table, Luna pouted for a moment, then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin and passed it to May, who looked suitably smug.

He glanced up from writing in his book and peered at the two girls suspiciously. Both flashed innocent smiles in return, while the others started to laugh.

Xenophilius plopped down next to Harry and smiled broadly. "So, do you have time now to talk to me?"

Harry glanced sourly over at Luna who smiled and gave Harry an approving nod. "I suppose," he said tiredly.

"Jolly good! Now, tell me how you intend to fight the Rot Fang conspiracy with your dragon army!" Xeno exclaimed.

When Harry looked at her pleadingly, Luna laughed. "Daddy, the dragons aren't worried about Rot Fangs. They don't eat chocolates or ice cream, but they have promised to help us find Snorkacks."

"Really? Smashing! Simply smashing!"

Harry groaned slightly and sunk lower in his chair. Luna glanced at him and frowned. "Eat, Harry! Daddy has questions for you and you'll think better on a full belly."

**Azkaban Island, September 1st...**

"I hate this place," Sirius muttered uneasily. He'd never wanted to see the place again, but he wasn't about to let Harry go alone. The fact that Harry wasn't alone, that he had all of the riders with him, meant nothing to Sirius.

Katherine nodded and stood a little closer to him. She had come on Norendrath with Sirius. Like Sirius who didn't want Harry here, she came to support Sirius, who still had nightmares about the place.

She looked around and shivered. She had never seen a place as bleak and uninviting as Azkaban Prison. It was impossible to find anything positive to say about it.

More than twenty miles off of the coast of Scotland, in the North Sea, the prison sat on a hill some twenty meters above the ocean. Nothing lived on the isle, including weeds. It was a barren, forsaken place.

Down by the dock, several Royal Navy launches waited for the people to finish their tasks. There was a full company of British Army soldiers stringing barb wire fencing around the low lying portions of the island and hanging signs warning people of Anthrax. The British government was known to have experimented with Anthrax and had made another island uninhabitable for nearly forty years. It was hoped that people seeing the signs would merely assume it was another island like Gruinard. A series of muggle repelling wards would also be placed on the island as an added precaution.

Sirius walked over to where Harry stood with Alejandro Croaker, Sir William and someone from the Royal Navy. The men were clustered around a small table that held a blueprint of the castle.

"We've placed metal plating on all the rooftop exits. Those exits were the first ones we sealed off when it was decided on this course of action. At the ground level, and at each turret, we've spiked the doors, then put metal plating in place, here, here and here," Croaker said, pointing at the map.

They had slowly removed prisoners and staff from the building. In the process, they'd sealed off whole sections of the castle from the outside. It had been a gradual thing, since they hadn't wanted to alarm the dementor population or tip them off to the real intent of the modifications.

Croaker looked up at Harry. "Physically, a single dementor is fairly weak, but there's no telling what a mass of them might be capable of doing. The last prisoner was removed from the castle nearly a week ago and as we slowly removed the prisoners, we sealed all the windows with stone. They've been without anyone to feed on for a week now and have to be getting hungry. Several of our people heard them rustling around inside, but I don't think they've tried working together on a door yet."

"I'll remind everyone that we need to heat the metal enough to soften it, but not vaporize it. All of the magical riders will be overhead, ready to cast a patronus if need be," Harry replied.

"Well, it's all sealed," Croaker said, looking pointedly at the engineer in charge of the construction detail. "Now its just a matter of waiting for everyone else to get out of the way."

The man nodded and he spoke softly into a radio. A second later, a siren sounded and the man started heading down to the docks and the waiting launches.

Harry turned and walked over to Ronan. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ronan smiled grimly. "No, but since I can't turn my dragon into a light bulb, some one has to. Besides, while I'm being unspeakably brave, you'll be overhead watching my ass."

Harry chuckled. "You're just hoping Karen will appreciate your bravery."

Ronan shrugged. "That too," he replied, then grinned.

"We'll start with the rooftop hatches. Remember, no one is to dismount from their dragon! And watch the plating. It's supposed to turn yellowish. We don't want to vaporize the metal, we just want it to soften enough that it will mold to the stone under it," Harry said. "Once you've molded the metal to the stone and it's cooled, they'll come back and drive pins into the stone that should hold everything in place."

Ronan nodded. The process was rather simple. One dragon would soften the metal, then another dragon would fly by, allowing a wizard passenger from the DMLE to apply a sticking charm as an added precaution. Harry and the wizard riders would act an an aerial guard, ready to cast a patronus charm at a moment's notice.

Croaker and the others watched from their vantage point as the dragons began their efforts.

"Are you sure this will work?" asked Sirius.

Croaker glanced over at the man and snorted. "Sure? Of course not. Until the dragons got involved, we didn't even know dementors could be destroyed. Can dementors be starved to death? I guess we're going to find out."

Harry landed an hour later, having finished watching them seal the openings to the castle. Now Azkaban was a true prison, only this time it didn't house humans. The potential for danger was high throughout the job, but in the end, it was all very anti-climatic.

"Good job," Croaker said. "I've had my people checking. Every opening is sealed good and tight. The engineers will move in an hour to add some final reinforcement."

Harry nodded, but the beginnings of a frown had Croaker looking at him oddly.

"Surely you can't be concerned over the dementors?" he exclaimed "You know what kind of monsters they are."

"I'm not concerned about dementors," Harry snapped. "I'm concerned that in my fervor to protect people and dragons, we chose a solution that might not be permanent. We don't know if they can starve to death, after all. For all we know, they're immortal unless killed by specific things. Maybe they're like vampires. We could be fixing this problem, only to see it crop up twenty years from now."

Croaker sighed. "Yes, that is a possibility I had considered. I even tasked an elf to visit daily to check that each seal remained intact. The only other option is to unseal the prison and let your dragons kill them. Do you want to risk that?"

Harry shook his head, unhappy with their solution and even less happy with the alternative. "This will have to do, I guess."

Sensing his anxiety, Chekiath crooned softly and butted his head gently against him. _"This will work, Harry. If nothing else, it buys us time. If the dementors escape in twenty years, they will face a nation of dragon riders who will hunt them down without mercy."_

"I know, mate," Harry replied. He turned and nodded to Croaker, then he climbed back into his place on Cheki's shoulders.

Harry pumped his fists and the dragon wings leapt into the air, then vanished from sight.

Croaker shook his head and turned back to the others. "All right, let's get this place cleaned up and those final fixes to the plates, then we can go home."

**Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, September 1st...**

Harry was hunched over the latest addition to his office, a drafting table. He wasn't drawing, however. Instead, he used the large surface to unfold maps of the various Weyrs. Also arrayed on the table were photographs from each Weyr they had visited. He was attempting to put together a list of Weyrs which could house riders, and Weyrs which could not.

"Harry?"

He looked up from his notes. "Remus? Come in." he said, sliding off the seat and standing up.

Remus entered followed by another older man carrying a briefcase. "Harry, I'd like you to meet Lewis Franklin. He's been sent over by the Prime Minister's office to help you develop a grounding in politics and diplomacy. Mr. Franklin is recently retired from teaching at Cambridge after a long stint in government. Her Majesty has asked him to tutor you on the basics."

Harry shook the man's hand and motioned to the chairs. "Please have a seat," he said, then he glanced at the pile of papers on the table and shook his head before walking around his desk and sitting down. "I'm afraid you caught me off guard, Mr. Franklin. I wasn't expecting the PM's office to move so quickly."

Franklin nodded. "I understand, Weyrleader. My real reason for coming over here today is to drop off some material for you to look over and to arrange a time for us to begin."

He opened his briefcase and withdrew several video tapes and a slim book, then he looked at Harry. "What do you know of diplomacy, Weyrleader?"

Harry shrugged helplessly. "Painfully little, I'm afraid."

Franklin smiled. "Don't let it bother you. Every one of us develops our own style of diplomacy and every one of us starts from scratch. Students studying the topic can only learn so much from reading books or watching other diplomats at work. In your case, we need to discuss politics and diplomacy, both of which can be confusing and work against each other."

He paused and glanced up at the map on the wall showing the Weyrs worldwide. "Politics affects diplomacy. It shapes your position. When you talk to the Prime Minister of Sweden, you need to understand what shapes his position because his position is formed by internal politics."

Harry looked alarmed and Franklin chuckled. "No one is going to expect you to understand everything there is to know about another country. Even our finest diplomats are very carefully briefed before they talk with a representative of another nation.

"My job is to help you come to a basic understanding so that you know what you need in order to function diplomatically. I'll be showing you what things to look for when you're planning on meeting with a country for the first time, and we'll look at some famous negotiations to see how they managed to achieve their successes, or what may have caused their failures."

Harry nodded. "I see," he said slowly. "So what would you like me to do first?"

Franklin passed over three private label video tapes and a thin book. "These tapes contain accurate reenactments of three pivotal diplomatic conferences in the twentieth century. Some of them were touted as great successes that turned out to be historical failures. Some were successes that were played down and it wasn't under twenty years after the fact that people could say, 'that was the turning point.'.

"Watch the tapes and read the book. Pay attention to how people speak and react to what's being said. I'll come back in a week and we'll spend a few hours talking about what you've learned."

Harry glanced at the three tapes and slim book and nodded, then he turned to his calendar. "How about the seventh? Morning would be best. After our session, you're welcome to join us for lunch."

Franklin nodded and made a note in a small book. "Excellent. Seeing more of your facility would enable me to tune the information I'm giving you."

Both men stood and Harry held out his hand. "I appreciate your help, Mr. Franklin."

Taking Harry's hand, the man smiled. "I look forward to our next meeting, Weyrleader."

"I'll show him out, Harry," Remus said.

"Thanks," he replied, pleased that he'd be able to get back to his work.

**The Great Hall, Hogwarts, September 1st...**

Minerva stood with a touch of nervousness and faced the student body. The first years had been sorted and the feast was over. Now it was time for her to give her welcome.

"Welcome back, students," she said. "And for those joining us for the first time, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

She paused and looked around. "No doubt you've all noted the considerable changes that have happened to our society this summer. Both the Quibbler and the Prophet have run stories about the changes sweeping throughout Wizarding Britain. Those changes include Hogwarts."

Minerva gestured to a large portrait of Queen Elizabeth behind her. There were two flag poles bracketing the portrait. One pole held the British Union flag, the other held the Hogwarts standard.

"Some of you students have an advantage," she said. "Those of you who are first born, that is, you are the first witch or wizard in your family, are at an advantage, having already attended mundane schools. Please try to help the other students, where possible. Study groups would go a long way in promoting understanding.

"In the coming months, a series of tests will be given to determine where you stand in mundane subjects like math and reading comprehension. The Queen wants you to be able to travel freely throughout the realm and not be forced to limit yourselves only to magical areas. A new school will open in Hogsmeade that will teach you mundane subjects when you're not here learning magic."

She held up her hand and the sound of protests died in the throats of some of the older students.

"Never forget that at the beginning of this summer over eight hundred wizards died in a foolish attempt to attack the Goblins of Gringotts. Goblins, muggles and dragons helped destroy the WDF. The vaunted superiority of wizards turned out to be an illusion. Your parents may tell you that you are better than muggles, and you might believe it, but you would be wrong. Wizard or muggle, you are still people, no better or worse than the other and certainly not privileged over the other.

"You will learn mundane subjects because that is the price of wanting to learn magic! The Ministry has decided that only those who carry a good grade in mundane classes will be able to attend Hogwarts beyond OWL levels."

Minerva's voice hardened. "Those of you who have taken your OWLS already will be given tutoring before your exams. You will need to achieve a minimum passing score in order continue at Hogwarts. You will have two chances at the exam to manage that."

"To that end, History of Magic and Divination have been dropped from the Hogwarts curriculum. Herbology has been changed to an elective, but it is still very valuable for anyone wishing a potions mastery, healer or auror career path.

"And finally, you have no doubt read about the formation of the Weyr. I have visited the Weyr personally this past summer and the stories you've read about in the Quibbler and the Prophet are very true. Dragons are intelligent and are reaching out to people. Hogwarts will act as host to some dragon riders sometime this month. You'll each have a chance to meet and speak with a dragon.

"Prefects, please escort your houses to their dormitories. Thank you all and I hope we have a great year!"

Minerva sat heavily in her chair and watched as the prefects ushered a stunned group of students from the hall.

Here and there in the school, some of the students were heartened by the idea of meeting dragons and were hoping to reunite with old friends.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, September 5th...**

May and Luna stepped into the hall and were surprised to see Harry sitting by the television watching something and taking notes. Both girls were due to take part in the two to four shift of the night patrol and had woken early to grab hot drinks before their shift started.

"Harry," May said softly, "it's nearly two in the morning. Why are you still up?"

Harry started, then he reached for the remote and paused the playback.

"I need to watch these videos, but I don't have a tape player in my quarters yet. I didn't think it would be a bother if I watched them in here late at night."

Luna sat next to Harry and glanced down at his notes. "Is it really important that you learn about this Josef Stalin? Will he be an obstacle to your plans?" she asked.

Harry chuckled. "No, he's long dead, but I've been watching him. His attitude seems all bluster and arrogance, but it really isn't. He resorts to that when he's uncomfortable with the topic, or he feels threatened. Truman, on the other hand, tried to deal with the man fairly and totally misjudged him."

"Is this really important?" Luna asked. "If they're dead, why worry about it?"

Harry glanced at May, seeing the understanding in her eyes. "Luna," he said, looking back at the blonde, "I'm the Weyrleader. For now, and probably for years to come, I'll be the only person capable of speaking for the dragons and riders."

He waved towards the paused image of three students playing the roles of Truman, Stalin and Churchill. The video was a mix of modern reenactment and newsreel footage. "Those three men were considered the top statesmen of their time. By watching them, I'm coming to understand how I'm supposed to act."

He looked down at his hands. "It's hard. At Hogwarts I used to get so angry at things. I can't do that anymore. Cheki helps me a lot, but I have to be better than that. So much depends on it."

May reached out and touched his hand. "Harry, you are who you are. Your sole focus is the dragons and their riders. Learning about these men is good, but I don't think you have to worry about being better. You just be the same man you've been since you impressed Cheki. The Weyrleader."

Luna nodded. "The rest will come naturally."

Harry looked at both girls as they finished their drinks and begin pulling on their flight jackets. He wasn't sure it would come naturally, but he still needed to watch these tapes before Mr. Franklin visited.

**Hangar two, Campbeltown Weyr, September 10th...**

Harry stood on the stage looking out at his riders. Behind him stood a copy of the map of Britain, showing where they had searched, looking for potential riders and for the remaining two dementors. The map was entirely colored blue at this point.

It was late in the day and the last search team had just returned as dusk settled over the Weyr. They'd come up empty and everyone was disappointed by the news.

Harry paced for a moment, then he shrugged in defeat. "I think," he said quietly, "that we have to assume that the remaining two dementors have somehow managed to slip through our net. I suppose it's possible that they could have stowed away on a channel ferry or other ship. The channel is too big for them to cross without help."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I don't see how we could have missed them. We searched everywhere," Luna replied unhappily.

"What about some of the islands? The coast is littered with them," May asked.

"Most are too far away from the shore. At best, a dementor could cross an open body of water that's a few hundred meters wide. Anything beyond a kilometer is too much for them," Sirius replied. "It's why the ministry always had a barge available for the prison, in case they were needed."

"Well, there's no use of crying over it. We're two short and they are either dead of causes unknown, or escaped off the island," added Ronan.

"I'll inform the Prime Minister, but I am sure of what he'll say. He will be grateful you found and destroyed most of them," Lord Mills offered. "Also, I have to bring the list of names Luna's put together anyway."

Lord Mills paused and he looked around for a moment. "I don't think any of you should be upset about the two missing dementors. We gave it a good shot and we took out eleven of them. It wasn't possible to search the entire country without dragon help. I say good job all."

"Does anyone have any other business?" Harry asked.

"I do," Sirius said. "Now that Luna has compiled her list of mundane potentials I'm going to set the dragons..."

He broke off as Harry turned abruptly, facing away from those below the stage.

"Harry?" he said in alarm.

"_Weyrleader, thank you."_

The weak voice echoed in their minds. There was a tinge of pain and extreme tiredness attached to the voice. All sound in the building seemed to cease for a split second, then the dragons started to keen.

"Omoth?" whispered Harry.

"_Omoth is no more, Weyrleader. She was old and it was her time. She passed Between, happy to know you will give us humans to be our riders,"_ Spath said with dignity.

Harry bowed his head and his tears fell freely. He quickly walked from the stage to the open area where his dragon was keening.

One of the dragons hit the pressure switch to open the massive doors to the hangar and the riders sought out their own dragons as the Weyr mourned a loss that nothing could have prevented. Omoth was one of the oldest dragons in the Weyr and hadn't had much contact with the riders.

Harry leaned against Chekiath and he knew that, in time, a great many of the non-bonded dragons would pass Between. With so many dragons in the world, barely a week went by that some dragon didn't pass Between. The Weyr only mourned those who were part of or known to their Weyr or if they witnessed the passing, but they felt the passing of the others just the same.

The non-riders could only watch as the riders and their dragons made their way out of Hangar Two and over to where Omoth made her Weyr at Hangar Four. The non-bonded dragons joined them in a massive show of support and mourning for the old dragon.

Harry stood silently, while the other dragons assembled around him. He looked down at the ground and placed one hand on Chekiath's neck, although it was unclear if he wanted comfort or was giving it.

"This isn't right," he said quietly.

The dragons stilled and waited, watching Harry closely. He looked up at his riders, and at the other non-riders that assembled at the fringe of the crowd.

"This isn't right," he said again louder.

Now everyone was looking at him, wondering what he was talking about.

He raised a hand and waved it, encompassing all of the dragons and people present. "Since Chekiath and I impressed, nearly one hundred dragons have passed Between due to age, illness or injuries received during the time of the beasts. Each of you dragons that came before Chekiath has no one to remember who you were. When you pass Between, your Weyr will mourn your passing, but only a few will know your name. And there will be no way to remember who you were."

Harry paused for a moment and he wiped at the tears that fell from his cheeks. "We need to stop this. Someday there will be a point where the only dragons in the world are those with riders, but who will remember the untold millions who came before the riders returned? Who will remember those who helped us shape our Weyr?"

Harry looked around until he spotted Remus, then he took a deep breath. "Remus, you aren't a rider, but you are still an important part of our Weyr. On Pern, the Harper was a teacher, an entertainer and a keeper of the past. We don't have true Harpers on Earth, but you've already taken it upon yourself to record our history. Would you also record the passing of those that came before? Even if it's just a record of names, they're important. Each of the non-bonded dragons has helped build our future. Will you record this so that someday our descendents will know of them?"

Remus nodded and made a promise to himself that he'd use only the finest materials to produce that book for the Weyr.

Harry walked over to Remus and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Weyr Historian," he said, affirming Remus' place in the Weyr for all time.

"Weyr Historian!" cheered Ronan. It was a new title, and it described a job Remus had been doing since he'd joined Harry at Disko, just days after Harry impressed Chekiath.

"_Weyr Historian,"_ Spath said slowly, then he bugled loudly and all the dragons turned to him. _"It is fitting. The ways of the Weyrs of Pern is our past. The Weyrleader honors that past, but he leads us to a new future with new jobs for dragon and people alike. Wolf is the first Weyr Historian."_

The dragons trumpeted and Remus smiled slightly. "I can't recall anyone getting so worked up about history before," he murmured.

Harry grinned and called for Dobby. When the little elf appeared, he bent down and whispered in his ear. The elf nodded and popped away. Moments later, several of the Weyr elves appeared and started to raise the large bonfire. They had camp fires while on their trip, but this was the first time since the start of the summer that they held an all Weyr gathering.

Several of the riders ran to their quarters to bring instruments or radios out. The dragons moved a little ways back and some of the riders set up chairs so they could be more comfortable. Mariah opened a case and removed her violin, which she started to play. Gordon Chapman pulled a lap sized keyboard out of a bag and he joined with Mariah.

Harry leaned back against Chekiath and closed his eyes. To Harry, Omoth was just a name, but she represented a greater story, a greater tragedy, of dragons who wanted riders but could never have them.

Sensing his mood, Chekiath laid his large head next to Harry and crooned softly. _"Wolf will help us __remember, Harry. It's a good idea."_

He nodded and stroked Cheki's eye ridges while listening to the music. Remus would help the Weyr remember.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, September 25th...**

"_You're still unsure, aren't you?"_ asked Chekiath as they came out from Between. _"But won't it be nice to see the Harper again?"_

"I was unsure from the first moment she mentioned it, Cheki. I don't know why she thinks it's a good idea to bring the riders to the school, but she was most insistent," Harry replied uneasily.

Luna had made a point of announcing that she would be visiting Hogwarts today with her search team and she thought it would be a good idea if all of the riders came along, especially the former Hogwarts students. Harry tried to talk her out of it, but as Hermione and some of the others seemed to think it was a good idea, he decided to reluctantly allow it.

"They don't understand, Cheki, but I guess this is the only way to really let them learn it for themselves," Harry said with a sigh, then he nudged the large dragon with his knees and Cheki started to spiral in to a landing at the Quidditch pitch. It was really the only place available for them to land their dragons, short of some clearings in the Forbidden forest or the area near the lake.

"_It'll be fine, Harry,"_ Cheki assured him.

Harry smiled and pat the dragon's neck. "I know, mate. I'm not worried for myself, but the others. I fear this will be a hard lesson, but it's one that must be learned."

The entire school had filled the stands and there were many other people present as well. Harry recognized several parents of the riders among the crowd and he could see Mr. Lovegood scribbling notes on a steno pad Luna had bought for him.

Harry tried to keep his distance from Mr. Lovegood since the man kept trying to cast diagnostic spells on him. He couldn't understand why Harry hadn't tried to ravage his daughter by now. It didn't help any that Luna did figure right up there with the three or four girls that fueled his fantasies most often, but he didn't really need her father trying to encourage him with advice, books or illustrated instructions!

Chekiath was the last to land and his landing caused those in the stands to fall silent. His wingtips barely missed the stands on opposing sides of the pitch. That Trath, Comaloth and Jack Bruno's Glamiath had a nearly equal wingspan was beside the point. Chekiath was the Weyrleader's dragon and he now carried himself appropriately. His very stance was a challenge. His slow look around the pitch spoke volumes about his authority and power.

Harry peeled off his helmet and gloves, sticking them in his bottomless bag, then he lightly dropped to the ground. He turned for a moment towards Chekiath and tried to hide his smile. This was their first public appearance in the wizarding world where they weren't rescuing anyone, or helping destroy the WDF. "You've got them terrified, Cheki," he said, trying to smother a laugh.

A loud murmur started up in the stands and Harry wasn't sure if it was because they recognized him or they were still surprised by how large Chekiath was.

"_I didn't mean to, but I do have an image to uphold. I am your dragon, therefore I am the largest, strongest and best representative of my kind."_

Harry smiled again and slapped his dragon's neck. "That you are," he murmured. Schooling his expression to one of polite interest, he then turned and walked toward Minerva, who stood nearby. Close to her were several wizards – Ministry personnel from their appearance – and curiously, a woman dressed in a muggle business suit.

Harry approached Minerva and he sketched a polite bow. "Headmistress, the Weyr appreciates you allowing this visit."

Minerva stepped forward and pulled a very surprised Harry into a hug. She couldn't believe the changes that the summer had wrought in him. He was taller, though not by much, and his shoulders were noticeably muscled. He looked tanned and fit, although she could already see the start of worry lines around his eyes.

"Hogwarts welcomes the Weyr, and you. Welcome back, Harry," she whispered, then she released him and stepped back.

Minerva cast a sonorus on herself, then she looked up at the people in the stands. "May I have your attention please?"

She waited a moment and the noise in the stands softened. "Thank you. We are honored today to host a visit by the riders from our own Weyr. They are here today because they are searching for potential rider candidates."

She held up a hand as a loud buzz ran through the crowd. "Please understand that, like magic, one is either a potential rider or not. It is not something that can be learned or forced. It is simply something you _are_. You know some of these riders. Some of them are your friends. Even if they wanted to, if you do not have what it takes, you cannot be a rider, so asking them only embarrasses you and them, so please refrain from asking.

"There will be some riders with the dragons all day long if you want to ask questions, but do not be afraid to ask the dragons themselves," She said, then she paused and looked at Harry who nodded. He wasn't about to leave the dragons unattended anyway.

She canceled the charm and turned to Harry, looping her hand inside his arm. "Come, I would like you to meet someone," she said.

She led Harry over to the women dressed in a business dress. "Mrs. Early, I would like to introduce you to the Weyrleader, Harry Potter. Harry, Mrs. Early is in charge of a new school built in Hogsmeade that will teach normal subjects to everyone."

She was a middle aged woman with a pleasant face. "Weyrleader, I have been briefed by Sir William personally. I am hoping to visit the Weyr someday soon. Mr. Dumbledore explained what you had accomplished and we were hoping to copy parts of it."

Harry shook her hand, "You could ask Sir William to arrange a meeting between yourself and Lord Mills, he handles most of our British government contacts for now. He can arrange for the proper clearances and such."

"So the Weyr itself is still classified?" she asked.

Harry smiled. "Yes, for now, but the dragons have been controlling who can see them for thousands of years. It was only when the wizards first invented the mage sight spell that they could no longer hide from them."

"Harry, Mrs. Early asked to sit in on my conversation with Miss Lovegood concerning the Hedge academies," Minerva said. The Hedge academies were an informal name given to a number of smaller schools that accepted students not normally able to afford, or were too weak in magic to be considered for a Hogwarts education.

"I don't see that as a problem," he replied, then he turned and signaled to Luna who had been standing nearby. She joined them and Harry turned to look at Mrs. Early. "Mrs. Early, this is Trandieth's rider, Luna Lovegood, and the person in charge of our search for candidates."

Mrs. Early looked surprised by Luna's young appearance. She had been briefed by Sir William, but really hadn't believed it when he spoke about how young the riders were.

Harry smiled briefly, almost hearing her thoughts. "Mrs. Early, you might want to remember that Luna shares her mind with another being, one who has memories spanning back millennia. Luna might appear young, but I caution you not to underestimate her."

Luna turned slightly and smiled at him. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Harry. She just doesn't understand the maturing effect the dragons have on _most_ of us."

Harry shook his head and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Luna was referring to the ravaging again. She had been teasing him about it since her father had visited the Weyr. He was personally convinced that any move in that direction on his part would probably reduce Luna to tears and he would never stoop so low.

Rather than stick around for more teasing, he bowed slightly. "I'll allow you ladies to have your discussion," he said, then he turned and walked back towards the dragons.

Luna watched him walk away with a small frown. Her teasing had either missed the mark or he was coming to understand her more than she suspected. She turned to look at Minerva and Mrs. Early. "I'm ready when you are."

"Why don't we take this to my office?" asked Minerva.

Mrs. Early nodded eagerly and Luna followed the two women. She needed to know how many of the Hedge academies there were and where to find them. Mrs. Early needed the same information so she could inform her superiors about the number of students they needed to deal with countrywide.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the students left the dubious safety of the stands to mingle with the riders and the dragons. It wasn't long before there were clusters of students standing around the dragons, asking questions.

Harry watched for a moment longer, then he began a careful inspection of Chekiath. "I need to oil you more," he grumbled to himself.

"_You take wonderful care of me, Harry. You oil me every day. The only rider that inspects their dragon more than you is Hermione. She still feels guilt over that misaligned scale Comaloth had,"_ Cheki replied.

Harry paused and leaned up against Cheki's flank for a moment. "Yeah, I can't really blame her for that. None of us like it when there's a problem."

He reached into his bottomless bag and withdrew a hand torch. "Let's see how we're doing, shall we?" he said.

Chekiath rumbled contentedly and sat up on his hind legs so that Harry could do his inspection. He knew there wasn't anyone here he really wanted to talk to. He also knew his riders would figure that out for themselves. And when they did, they wouldn't be happy.

"Harry?"

He looked up from his position in surprise. He had expected that certain people would seek him out, but this person wasn't one of them.

"Neville," he said with a smile, then he climbed to his feet. He had been checking the scales around the base of Cheki's right rear leg. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Harry. Is this your dragon?"

Harry nodded and laid a hand against Chekiath. "Yes. Neville, let me introduce you to Chekiath. Cheki, this is Neville Longbottom."

"_Harry has told me about you. You're the guy who likes to grow plants. Harry says you have two green thumbs, but they don't look any different to me,"_ Chekiath said.

Neville blinked in surprise and he stared at the large Horntail. "Wow," he muttered, "Hello to you, Chekiath. I hope you take good care of Harry."

"_We care for each other really. But you came here to talk to Harry didn't you? Maybe you can explain to Harry how your thumbs returned to normal. I'm sure it's an interesting tale."_ asked Chekiath.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Sometimes dragons are very literal," he explained.

Neville nodded. "Well he's right. I did come here to talk to you, thanks for reminding me," he replied, then he tore his gaze away from Chekiath and he turned back to Harry. "I just wanted to say I'm very sorry for last year. In all the years we've known each other, you never made fun of me and you tried to help me whenever you could."

Neville looked down at his feet. "Last year I was afraid that if I supported you like I wanted to, the house would turn on me too. When McGonagall gave me that emergency portkey and I later learned it would have taken me to the Weyr, I promised myself that I would never let a friend down like that again. I was wrong and I'm sorry that I helped hurt you."

Harry looked at Neville and shook his head. He didn't want to talk about that time, but Neville was freely offering the one thing he didn't think he'd ever hear. "Neville, thank you for the apology. That time was bad for everyone, but I really can't say it was all your fault."

"I know, but I added to it," Neville countered.

Harry nodded and stuck out his hand. "You might have been afraid back then, but it takes a lot of courage to admit you were wrong and then apologize for it. Thank you."

Neville took his hand and shook it. The relief in his expression was obvious.

"I wrote you a letter, apologizing," he explained, "but the owl wouldn't take it. When I heard the Weyr would be visiting, I decided to find you and apologize in person."

Harry grimaced. He forgot about the owl confundus Remus cast. He'd have to make sure it's removed.

"In the future, if you want to send something to me, it's easiest to call for Dobby and have him deliver it, but I'll see the owl obscuration is taken down. There's no need for it anymore," Harry said.

Satisfied, Neville smiled at Harry, told Chekiath how pleased he was to have met him, then excused himself and made his way back to the castle.

**Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, September 25th...**

The moment Harry stepped into the hall, Susan Bones rushed to him.

"How did you know?" she asked, her cheeks streaked with tears.

He pulled her into a loose hug, then he looked over her shoulder to the others. "How many of you came away from Hogwarts unhappy?"

Seeing that all of his magical riders had their hands up, he sighed and gently walked Susan to the table where Hermione and Emma were seated. She turned and sat and Harry waited while the magical riders rearranged themselves closer. Hermione's own expression was clearly unhappy and she would have also confronted Harry about it, except that Emma had an arm about her shoulders.

"With few exceptions, most of you had friends growing up, friends that you were certain would always be there for you. A few of us grew up differently. I was against returning to Hogwarts, not because of my own feelings for the place, but what I thought it would do to you."

He lifted his chin and looked at them. "I am a dragon rider. It's even more important to me than being Weyrleader. It helps shape and define me and will for the rest of my life. Now that I am a rider, I know that Chekiath will always have a prime position in my life. Each of you can say that and that's something your old friends will never understand."

Harry turned to Susan. "What happened, Sue?" he asked gently.

Susan sniffled. "I was talking to Hannah. We grew up together and no matter how hard I tried to explain it, she couldn't understand. It was like we had totally different priorities in our lives and that's something that never happened between us before. Then Ernie came by and made some rude comments about not liking boys so I went with a beast. Honestly, Harry, I nearly hit him."

"How many of you had similar experiences?" he asked and wasn't surprised to see most of them raising their hand.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you, Harry?" asked Luna. She had pushed for the riders to accompany her because she thought it would be a good chance to see the old school and perhaps connect with friends again.

The Wizarding World, in Britain at least, acknowledged the Weyr and the way was open for the riders to be able to write to their old school mates again. Luna had no real friends in her house, and she hadn't been able to meet with Ginny, her one real friend at the school, so she hadn't experienced the same thing the others had.

Harry shook his head. "Know for sure? No, but I suspected it would. We're dragon riders. Only someone living in the Weyr might understand what that means and only another rider would know for certain. You went back to the school hoping to reconnect and you discovered that your dragon was an obstacle to that. Your friends are concerned with school work and dating and the next Quidditch game, while you have an entirely different set of priorities."

"All Ron did was complain that he had no one to copy his homework from," Hermione said darkly. "When I told him I wasn't coming back, he nearly blew his top. I walked away and ran into a very unhappy Ginny, who had just come from talking to you."

Harry grimaced. "I had thought that by staying with the dragons I could avoid any problems," he admitted. "I met with Neville and I was surprised by how well that went, but then Neville always had a good head on his shoulders, even if he doesn't believe in himself.

"After Neville left, Ginny Weasley hunted me down. Ginny also wanted to know when I was returning and was very unhappy to hear that I wouldn't be. I told her I had more important things than magic to worry about and she started to get crazy. She said I didn't care about her feelings at all. I don't know where that came from, so I went for a fly on Chekiath."

"I wondered why you were flying over the castle," Luna murmured. "I saw you from McGonagall's office." She sighed and looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry," she said to the others. "I honestly thought this would be a good thing for us."

"Luna," Harry said with a smile, "we learned about six firsties and those four second years who can be riders. There's also that fourth year who wasn't present at the first task and all the other magical schools you can go to for potentials. This was in no way a failure, at least not for the weyr. And it wasn't a failure on the part of the riders, but on those who simple can't or won't understand that our lives are different now."

"I think we needed it, to be honest," Millicent said softly and everyone turned to look at her. She had met with her parents. They'd tried to make demands of her and were most upset when she'd refused them. When her father summoned an Auror over to witness his right to put her under an Imperius as the Head of her House. The Auror and his muggle trained partner had tackled him to the ground and cuffed him. Millicent spat on her father and walked back to her dragon, who was bellowing in anger.

"I needed to see that I had grown beyond that place. I was just a witch, now I am a rider. I also hope to be a scientist and I _know_ that I can be all three. My father would have me married to a man I don't even know, just so he could seal a business deal. When I refused, he wanted to force me. I needed to see that," Millicent said.

"_No one will take you away from me,"_ Tarianth declared fiercely.

The riders all smiled hearing their own dragons echo the sentiment.

"I know, my Tari. You and I will be together forever," Millicent replied equally as fiercely.

As the day at Hogwarts had worn on, each of the magical riders had returned to their dragons, disheartened and disgusted by some of their old friends and family. Barely two hours into their visit and all the magical riders where back in the Quidditch pitch, except for Luna and Harry.

"Milli's right," added Katie. "We've all thought about what it would mean to go back. It was a fantasy, just a dream, but I think we all knew it was dream we really didn't want. We're dragon riders. There's no going back. And who would want to?"

Harry nodded. "It was a good thing, Luna," he said, then he walked over to her and lifted her chin with a finger. "It was a good thing for all of us because it showed us who we really are."

She gave him a weak smile, then she sat down with the others.

Harry grinned and called for Dobby, who appeared with the other elves. Each elf was levitating a huge container of ice cream. Harry nodded to Sirius, who had told the elves to get the ice cream. Once the tubs were on the tables, bowls and spoons appeared.

Emma stood and lifted off the lid, then she groaned. "Chocolate Demise?" she asked, looking at Sirius. He nodded and she grabbed a bowl. "The dentist in me is shrieking right now. Back off girls, this tub is mine!"

* * *

**Author's Mockeries and rants:**

- Alright, let me be succinct. I'm married and if your offers don't come with explicit videos, I'm not interested. Now go away!

- USA-Jeanette, I can't tell you how glad I am that you're not rooting for Draco's who who. I'll sleep better at night knowing that. Meanwhile you've devastated Alyx that you would criticize the great missing who who epic. Not surprisingly that makes me sleep even better!

- Obekendkoan, the excerpts were just too difficult to maintain. They were a nice idea, but Remus' work was giving away future plot points.

- AlsoknownasMatt or as we in the know call him, akamat, says things are running too slowly. We're sorry but Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither can this be built in a day.

- No ninja weresquirrels were harmed in writing these rants. However two Cyber Zombie Bunnies were killed when they attacked one of Alyx's prototype adult toys. I tried to tell her that no one would want a vibrator with changeable drill bits!

- Pokey1984 reads our stuff via a dial up connection. And that means he or she has more patience than any ten saints you can think of! We're glad you enjoy the work Pokey!

- Despite our comments, people still insist on telling us what ship they prefer. Why? I am not going to change my selection just because of your opinion. You like so and so, and someone else hates so and so. I can't please you and that other person so you know what? I'm going to please myself by writing the story the way I want it. You want a ship with so and so? Write it yourself!

- Harriverse, I won't say you or any reader is dumb. But some times little foreshadowing of future issues needs to be shouted or they get lost in the noise of the rest of the story.

- And finally, there's been a change here at fanfiction that I strongly disagree with. Once upon a time you could stop people from leaving unsigned reviews. That stopped a lot of the nasty reviews from cowards too chicken to log in and leave a review with a traceable account. Now FFN has opted to remove that feature and instead gone with a bizarre arrangement that requires the author to willfully delete unsigned reviews. **This is the new policy of FFN.**

**Now here is my official policy.**

If you cannot take the time to sign in to leave a review then I cannot possibility accept your review as authentic. I mean how can I know it's you leaving the review? I can't. Therefore all unsigned reviews will be deleted, unread and your shot at fame and glory will be lost for all time.

**UNSIGNED BAD. BEER FOAMY! SIGNED GOOD!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Standard Disclaimer:**

"So you're stuck on your Who who epic?" asked Bob, trying to hide his glee.

Alyx nodded tearfully. "Yes I have writers block. I tried some medication for it, but it didn't work."

Bob stared at her incredulously, then shook his head. "That medication for another type of block and when it starts working you might not want to get too far from the bathroom."

Alyx looked at him in surprise, then she lunged at him and grabbed him by the shirt and started shaking. "What am I going to do? I was all set to have Severus give his rendition of Swan Lake in interpretative dance format as a birthday present for Prince Draco but I don't know what comes next!" she wailed.

Bob stepped back and recovered from being shaken, then he dusted off his shirt. "I anticipated this actually. Fortunately I managed to cobble together a couple of potential plot points for you," he said, then he turned to the audience. "Get your mind out of the gutter! I know I could have said gobble, just because she's doing slash, but I would never stoop so low."

He held out a ten inch high stack of post it notes. Alyx's eyes lit up and she grabbed the pile from Bob and read the first one. "Dastardly Harry Potter casts an enlarging charm on the Who who and tries to sell the idea to Japanese movie studios that the Who who beats Godzilla as the next major movie monster," she muttered. "Hmm Maybe."

She peeled off the first note and read the second one. "Voldemort turns the Who who into an infieri?"

Bob shook his head. "While she's doing that, I'll just say we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern."

"Harry Potter enlarges the Who who and gives it to pygmy cannibals who start to worship it," Alyx said, reading another note. "I like that one. Severus wanted to do that."

Bob shook his head. "All right, on with the chapter while she works on plot points."

With that Bob walked off the stage leaving Alyx standing there. "Oh here's a good one," she exclaimed. "Harry hides the stolen Who who in a frankfurter factory. As Severus and Prince Draco race to find it, they have no clue it's already en-route to a Chicago ball park concession stand!"

Her eyes gleamed with anticipation, "I could do a whole section in the 24 hour format and have Bob make ticking noises in the background!"

* * *

**A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  
- Winston Churchill**

**#10 Downing Street, London, October 1****st****...**

Croaker, Dumbledore and Sir William filed into the Prime Minister's office. All three noted that Lord Kennewick was present and looked rather grim.

John Major looked up and waved them inside. "Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice, but we have trouble brewing and we're in need of help. Cyril?"

Kennewick nodded. "Yesterday at four hundred hours, there was an explosion in Rome that leveled the Magistral Palace of the Order of Malta. The Italian government is claiming a terrorist bombing, but we have heard from some of our contacts on the continent that this may be a result of the increasingly violent Italian/Greek magical conflict."

Croaker looked a little confused and he leaned forward on his chair. "Were many injured?"

"According to press reports the night staff, twelve people, are unaccounted for, and of course any unfortunate passersby. Right now the Italian authorities are still shifting through the rubble looking for bodies."

Major picked up another piece of paper. "Last week, a bus carrying a group of Greek tourists plunged off a mountain road, killing everyone on board. The strange thing is that the Greeks are also blaming it on terrorists.

"Gentlemen, our problem is a simple one. Both Italy and Greece are NATO allies and we now believe that they are no longer in control of their respective countries. Add to that the fact that we have no view inside many of the magical governments and we're groping in the dark," he said, angrily throwing the paper on the desk. "We need to build up an intelligence network and we need to do it quickly."

"Sir, this is more of a job for MI6," protested Sir William.

"You're right, Sir William," Kennewick replied. "Under normal circumstances we'd ask them. We have a few wizards that we could send overseas, but we don't know who runs the foreign Ministries. You, on the other hand, must have access to people who either know or can obtain that information."

"We thought about asking the dragons for help, but Sir Robert explained their abilities as far as reading people was rather superficial," Major admitted.

Dumbledore nodded. "At best, the dragons are masters of what I would call a surface legilimency scan. Even Legilimency isn't true mind reading as portrayed in literature. The dragons are marvelous at determining the emotional state of a person and reading their personality, but they can't really read minds. Their exceptional hearing, coupled with their ability to perform this surface scan, implies more ability than what really exists. They can talk to others telepathically, but they can't really read any mind, except perhaps that of their rider."

Major nodded. "Yes, that's basically how Sir Robert described it. He also told me that the dragon's ability to remain hidden can be overcome with a spell?"

"Mage sight," said Croaker. "Most wizards never cast it because of the headache it causes. Professional dragon handlers become immune to the headache given enough time, but it's not a generally well known spell. It is, however, a common tool for dragon handlers and most magical law enforcement groups, since it allows a wizard to see charmed or cursed objects."

"So the dragons can't help with this. The real question is what kind of help can you provide MI6? We're going to need to set up a new department, I'm afraid, but it'll be staffed with experienced personnel at least at the management levels. We'll have people who know how to run the department, but no one will know their subject material." Kennewick said.

"It's a shame we lost Dirk Cresswell," murmured Croaker.

Major looked at him, the question in his expression obvious.

"Dirk Cresswell wasn't a pure blood wizard, but he was very good at what he did. Unfortunately, his ancestry became an issue and he was pushed to the office of Goblin liaison as a preliminary step to firing him. It was part of the old Ministry's policy to shove out the door any muggle born that was capable of out performing his pureblood counterparts. Before he was moved to Goblin liaison, he rose up through the office of International Cooperation. He was one of the few people who knew all of the Ministries and who ran them."

"Can we get him?" asked Kennewick.

Croaker shook his head. "I doubt it. He quit the Ministry at the beginning of the year and emigrated to Canada, somewhere in British Columbia I believe."

Major and Kennewick exchanged a look and Kennewick nodded. "I'll contact our Canadian cousins and see what they can do to locate him. If he's not willing to come back permanently, we'll offer him a contract to assemble dossiers on each country and who's who."

"Good idea," Major said.

"We could talk to some of our merchants or perhaps the goblins, for information. The Ministries tended to be rather insular and not really involved in the affairs of other countries, but many merchants had to make their own contacts overseas. And the goblin territory lies under most of the world, except for some of the Pacific nations," offered Croaker.

"Gentlemen, please do," said Major. "We are struggling to determine who is in charge in a great many countries. For example, we think Germany and France are fine, as it seems both the mundane and magical Ministries are working together closely. Norway and Sweden, on the other hand, have what looked like a magical ministry that is only paying lip service. It's a mess and we have no real way of confirming this right now."

"Prime Minister, what will you do if you find the wizards are in control?" asked Dumbledore.

Major and Kennewick exchanged a glance. "It depends. In the case of the United States, the wizards were just keeping the regular government in the dark as to their activities. In such cases we'll probably approach regular government at the highest possible diplomatic levels and offer our aid in wresting control back to the regular government," Kennewick offered.

"And in the case of the wizards controlling everything?" Dumbledore pressed.

Major looked uncomfortable, "We're not sure. It's not like we can openly declare war on countries. We have allies in this effort and I think we'd like to reach some sort of consensus before acting first. There are other options available, including the world court of public opinion."

"You'd expose wizards to the world?" exclaimed Croaker.

"Mr. Croaker," Kennewick said frostily, "there will soon be five thousand million people in the world and your segment of it adds up to less than ten million. We would not want to resort to that action, and perhaps the threat of exposure alone might bring some nations around. However, the simple fact is, the world needs to be back in control by the majority of the populace, not an elite few with a rare ability."

"Mr. Croaker, you knew that sooner or later your world would have to be made public. You simply cannot hide much longer. Everyday it shrinks smaller as science and technology allow us to do things you can't," Major said gently. "It was one of Sir William's tasks to work out ways to gently make your people known without causing you too much difficulty."

Croaker looked disappointed. "I knew about Sir William's tasks, sir, I just hoped it wouldn't come to that. Honestly, I can't see a way of doing this that won't result in witch hunts and public stonings again."

"You can be assured that Her Majesty's government will work very hard to see that does not happen Mr. Croaker," Major said firmly.

Croaker nodded, but he didn't look any happier.

**Her Majesty's High Court, October 1st...**

Cornelius Fudge was led into the small glass paneled chamber. He had two guards with him, although at this point he was a broken man and the guards were unnecessary. He looked around without any great interest. The scene was unfamiliar to him. He had lived for months without the use of his magic or any friendly conversation other than his court appointed defense. It was a crushing blow to someone who had climbed to the very pinnacle of power, only to have it snatched from his grasp at the last minute.

On the other side of the glass panels was a large room with only three people in it. A guard reached forward and flipped a switch on wall panel. A speaker crackled momentarily, then the guard nodded to one of the men in the room.

The bailiff stood and said, "All rise! This session of the High Court is now in session. The right honorable justice Edwards presiding."

Fudge looked up in alarm. He had been told that he would be sent to trial, but he never really believed it. Even the conversations he had had with his court appointed barrister hadn't driven that point home.

Justice Edwards sat and shuffled some papers, then he looked up. He peered over the rim of his glasses towards Fudge's Barrister. "Mr. Wells, your motion to make this an open session is denied, as these proceedings are covered under the Official Secrets Act. However, in order to address your concerns, I have petitioned the Lord Chief Justice to review the transcripts of these proceedings."

Wells frowned and looked unhappy, but he'd known it was a long shot when he filed the petition. The fact that the judge was asking for a review was both welcome and unwelcome. By asking for the review, the judge was short circuiting the appeals process, making it harder for him to mount an appeal at a later date.

Edwards glanced down at his paperwork, then he looked over to the Prosecuting attorney. "Mr. Simon, is Her Majesty's prosecutor ready to present the case?"

Simon stood. "We are, your honor."

"Very well then, you may proceed."

Fudge slipped lower and lower in his chair as the Prosecutor read off the list of charges, including treason, sedition, murder, willful obstruction of justice, as well as a host of other charges.

Cornelius suddenly realized he would never take another breath as a free man. He had gambled and lost, not only personally, but his loss had destroyed the very pinnacle of the wizarding world.

**Condron Weyr, New Mexico, October 2nd...**

Harry and his three wings popped out of Between into the dry heat of New Mexico. He looked down and was shocked by the amount of equipment and buildings sprawled out below him. There had to be a hundred trucks filled with gravel and sand, waiting to be unloaded into the enormous hangars that had been erected.

Nearby there were dozens of mobile homes, some still sitting on their trailers, waiting to be seated onto their foundations. Three Quonset buildings had been set up as barracks for potentials and what would be the administration building was still being erected. The old run down hangars had been torn down and replaced with new sparkling buildings that were originally designed to house massive bombers.

It was a Saturday and what ever work crews that had been present were gone for the weekend.

"They haven't been standing still," muttered Harry in amazement, then he nudged Chekiath. "Let's land the wings."

Cheki banked and started to lose altitude. The wings followed him all the way down, maintaining their precise formation.

Harry pulled off his helmet and wiped at his brow. Even in early Autumn it was hot in New Mexico. He spotted Doctor Standish standing next to Jasper Brady, the American from the Department of Magic. Behind them were several military types he didn't recognize. Harry waved to Milton, then he lightly dismounted from Chekiath.

Milton Standish had left Campbeltown a few days earlier to return to the States and head up the NASA led scientific team assigned to Condron. Mildred O'Connor had been asked to return also, but Sir Robert had asked that she be assigned as permanent scientific liaison to the British scientific team. Harry was happy to learn that she had accepted the position. Remus was even happier.

Doctor Standish strode forward briskly with a bright smile on his face and Harry smiled back.

"Doctor Standish, I am very impressed with what you've managed to accomplish here."

Milton nodded and waved towards the buildings. "Our administration wants this very much, Weyrleader. Given that, we've been able to marshal enough resources to do a lot."

Harry grunted in agreement, then he turned to Jasper Brady. "Mr. Brady, it is good to see you again. How goes the search for potentials?"

"Ralaninth has been a big help finding potentials. We have a large list to choose from and your Miss Lovegood has been over here several times helping us in the vetting process. We currently have two lists, one of younger potentials and one at the right age. I understand you're limiting the dragons to one hundred and twenty eggs this time, but we'll have our share of candidates."

Harry looked apologetically at the man. "I know you want to send more and impress more dragons, but we'll be taking in potentials from the UK, Tibet and the US. We just don't have the room to house that many candidates and riders while they are at Disko. As it stands, we're going to need your help to keep your candidates in line. It will also take all three manned Wings to help with the training following the impression."

Brady nodded. "Yes, I saw your request. We plan on asking several of the parents to come along to provide chaperone duties." He looked over his shoulder and he motioned to one man. "Weyrleader, this is Captain Wilson of the United States Marines. He will be putting together a detail to provide security for the Weyr similar to what you have."

Wilson eyed Harry for a moment, then he snapped to attention and saluted. Harry blushed slightly and nodded to the man, then he extended his hand. "Captain, thank you for your help. I'm going to suggest you contact our Major Atkins. She maintains Weyr security for us. Doctor Standish can help you get in touch with her. She can offer you some good ideas in regard to providing security for the Weyr. She can also tell you about how we use dragons to mount an airborne patrol while her people maintain the ground patrols."

Wilson nodded, then he glanced over Harry's shoulders and eyed the dragons lined up behind him like a line of jet fighters.

Harry caught his appraising look and smirked slightly. "Captain, if I may, the best way to approach the dragons is to think of them as funny looking people with unique abilities."

Wilson nodded. He had seen some of the dragons from the White Sands Weyr and they weren't anywhere near the size of these dragons. "Yes, sir," he said softly. He had been briefed on the dragons and even had the chance to speak with a few from the White Sands Weyr. They were fearsome looking, but he found they had very gentle personalities.

Harry chuckled and turned back to Brady. "Is everything set?"

Brady nodded, then pointed at the trucks. "We have enough drivers on hand. There are fifty two trucks, half containing gravel and half containing sand."

"Excellent," Harry murmured. "Have your drivers bring up the gravel first."

Harry turned and glanced up at the tops of the hangers. Smiling, he sent a mental command and the dragons from White Sands appeared, sitting on the hangar roofs.

Everyone gasped at the sight and Harry grinned. "The dragons are as eager to move into their new home as you are to have them, Mr. Brady," he said softly. He then motioned to the elves and magical riders who stood nearby.

"The trucks with the gravel are going to be here in a moment," he told them once they'd gathered around. "They're packed with burlap bags of stones. We're going to take turns levitating them into the stalls until they cover the bottom of the stall. Then we'll move to the next stall. When that's done, we'll move to the next Hangar.

"The elves are capable of moving more than we are, so don't worry if you can't keep up with them. Do not exhaust yourselves! There are no facilities here yet that you can sleep in. Our non-magical riders will be raking out the stones so they have an even thickness. Then a dragon will heat the stones and we'll be able to move the sand in. Everyone understand?"

Seeing everyone nod, he grinned. "Let's get to it then."

The magical riders stood to one side and one of the five of the large trucks pulled up to the hangar. Harry walked over to where Ronan stood with the non-magical riders. "Ronan, let's get a patrol airborne. I want you and Sirius to take part so you can make recommendations to Captain Wilson. This Weyr is bigger than ours and is going to have different needs as far as security goes. I'll get May inspecting the dragons."

Ronan nodded and turned to the others. Harry sent a silent command to Trath to relay to May, who smiled in relief and waved to Harry. Satisfied that everyone was busy, he turned and levitated a stack of bags and walked into the hangar.

Four hours later, Harry sat in the shade of one of the hangars and drank deeply from a can of soda. When everyone started pitching in, Brady vanished, returning nearly two hours later with food and drinks for everyone present. The famished riders and the others tore into the food when they were finished preparing the dragon stalls.

Brady watched in astonishment when the dragons each picked out their stalls and set the stones glowing. He then turned to Harry, who smiled.

"It'll be years before the stalls will need to be cleaned out and the rocks reheated. These dragons are luckier than most. Most don't have these prepared beds. Chekiath's first bed was a rocky cavern floor that I laid some blankets over."

Brady joined Harry, removing his jacket before sitting next to him.

Harry had to give the man credit. After he'd returned from getting the food, he'd pitched in and helped along with all of the other wizards. But Harry was forced to wonder if there was a cooling charm on his jacket because he couldn't understand how the man wore a three piece suit in this heat.

"Thank you for your help today, Mr. Brady," he said, reaching for another piece of fried chicken.

Brady waved off his thanks. "We should be thanking you, Weyrleader. I was no great fan of our previous Secretary of Magic, you know. Once they got rid of him, the rest of us learned more about some of the things he was doing. Did you know that he completely suppressed what was happening with the dragons from the general population? I mean, we knew that we used dragons and even exported some of their products, but he hid the fact that he had lost control of the reserves, and that he was attempting to control the information the government saw."

Seeing Harry's look of surprise, Brady shook his head. "It's no great secret, but our country has been more sensitive to the other sapient races. Our civil war ingrained that into us, though some are a bit more thick than others in that regard. For example, you can bond with house elves in the States, but you must pay them and they have the right to seek out a new employer to bond with."

Harry laughed. "Don't let Hermione Granger hear you say that. She's been trying to free elves since she first learned of their existence."

Brady winced. "First born, right?"

Harry nodded.

"I'll send you a copy of a book that describes the bond of the elves and how it came into being. She's well meaning, but her attitude can be dangerous if she doesn't understand what she is doing," Brady offered.

"Hermione will never turn down a book," he said with a grin.

"Weyrleader," Brady said, now sounding rather tentative, "I've been asked if you have any problems with our researching any other areas that the Hot Rocks might be used for?"

Harry placed the chicken he was eating on his plate and wiped his hands. "Such as?"

"It's been pointed out that at their hottest, the rocks are as hot as an industrial blast furnace. We've had some people wonder if they could be used as a source of heat for a furnace. Regular furnaces are very expensive to maintain.

"Also the military have expressed some interests."

Harry sighed. "Mr. Brady, the dragons will help in anyway possible, but I cannot and will not allow them to be involved in making weapons."

Brady chuckled. "You misunderstand me, Weyrleader. Our military does perform a lot of research in new weapons technology, but they also research other things. I spent three hours the other day listening to a scientist begging for more information on Hot Rocks and the dragon's ability to vary their heat. He was intensely interested in seeing if they could be used as heat sources to keep men warm in the field. Right now, a soldier dressed in arctic gear can barely move because the coats are that bulky. He wants to see if low temperature rocks could be sewn into uniforms to warm a body."

"I see," he said, then smiled. "As long as you understand that dragons do not want to be involved in anything that hurts a person, they are more than willing to help. I'll allow any sort of research as long as it's not weapons related."

Brady nodded. "How about if we submit a proposal outlining the aim of the research and how it will be conducted, along with the goal? If you approve, we'll go ahead with it."

"I like that idea," Harry admitted. "I don't want to throw obstacles in your path, Mr. Brady, but my primary concern is to the dragons and my riders. Part of the original design of the dragons forbid them to hurt a human. That restriction has faded over the years, but no dragon wants to hurt anyone."

"I don't think we'll have any problems with that, Weyrleader, and I doubt my government will either."

Brady waved towards the large open area across the runway where they were setting up housing. "We have been putting together the staff that will be helping the riders. My boss has asked me to be the liaison between the government and Weyr, sort of like your Lord Mills."

"Are you going to do it? We haven't had much personal dealings, but the dragons say you're trustworthy and would be a fine person for that position. The dragons recommendation is high praise. They recognize that needs have to be met. For them to say you are capable of doing the job makes you the prime candidate in my book," Harry said.

"I am seriously considering it, Weyrleader," Brady admitted with a faint flush.

"Please call me, Harry," he said, "If you're going to be working so closely with the Weyr I'm certain we'll have far too much contact to remain so formal."

Brady gave him a grateful smile. The man was young, only about Sirius' age, and Harry really wanted him as a friend to dragons. He needed to make sure there were people in the American government who would see the value that the dragons were offering.

"I'll be honest with you, Mr. Brady. I don't have to be a seer to know that there will come a time when dragons are known to the general public. Imagine waking up one morning and finding a busload of school children coming to the Weyr to meet with dragons. Or one of the Wings going out on a mission to teach about dragons by visiting some rural school.

"I have riders who are looking into other areas that dragons can use to earn their keep, including offering ecologically clean tours of hard to reach places like the Amazon or providing passenger service. Imagine New York to Tokyo in fifteen minutes, and no exhausting flight experience. The possibilities are endless for both your country and for the dragons. Right now we're taking little steps forward, but where we'll be in ten or twenty years is anyone's guess. I hope you come along for the ride. The dragons need friends and we try very hard to take care of our friends."

Brady fought to hide his flush and looked down. "I'll consider it, Harry. To be honest, I have enjoyed getting away from Washington these past weeks. My wife and daughter have been wanting to come visit, but getting them a security clearance at this stage would be difficult."

Harry nodded, then he stood. "Give it some thought, Mr. Brady. By the time the riders are in place, you and your family could move into the Weyr. Now, before we have to return to Campbeltown I'd like to get Luna over here and talk about your candidates."

Brady nodded and summoned his briefcase containing those notes. Harry turned to find Luna standing nearby smiling at him and waiting for him to call her. "Are you finally ready for me Harry? I was beginning to think you had forgotten," she said brightly.

Harry shook his head ruefully and realized that Luna would always be like this. Then again, he rather enjoyed the way Luna thought, even if it did give him a headache from time to time. He smiled at her. "Don't ever change Luna," he murmured.

She blinked and frowned. The thought that Harry might actually understand her was disconcerting. How was she supposed to appear quirky if he actually _understood_ her?

"Luna, do you have that list that Mr. Brady provided?" Harry asked.

"Weyrleader," Brady said, interrupting him. "If it's all right for me to call you Harry, then you can call me Jasper."

Harry nodded and turned back to Luna.

She arched and eyebrow and went for a killing comment. "You can call me Luna, but never call me Mona."

Harry smirked at her and pointed to the list in her hands. "The list?" he prompted.

Luna fought down the urge to stomp her foot and glanced at the list. "Currently, we have thirty seven magical students, aged fifteen to seventeen, who are being observed. We also have sixty non-magical students undergoing the same observation. Jasper plans on presenting fifteen magical and twenty five non-magical students as candidates. Ralaninth's dragons have been watching them around the clock, except for the few hours today that they needed to set up their stalls."

Luna paused and looked over at Brady expectantly.

"We're doing standard background checks on the mundane families. Like the British, we concentrated on children from military families and added the enticement of college scholarships for the students that agreed to participate in the program," Brady added.

Harry nodded. "I expect that we'll see the mating flights this month with the hatching come mid November. That means we'll have to come here to introduce the candidates to the dragons before bringing them to Disko. Can you have your forty candidates assembled here no later than the third of November?"

Brady made a note in a small pad and nodded. "I assume you'll want the chaperones as well?"

"Please," Harry replied. "It's going to be confusing enough as it is. But our plan is to give the candidates at least ten days of exposure to dragons at Disko Island. Also, considering the last hatching, we probably have thirty minutes to an hour to assemble and transport any guests you might want present. I strongly suggest you invite them to Condron for a few days, starting around the thirteenth or fourteenth."

Brady continued to write in his notebook, then he looked up and grinned. "I have to admit this is really starting to get exciting. All this time it's been an idea, now it's really happening."

"It was always going to happen, Mr. Brady," Luna said. "Harry would make it happen. The riders all knew that from the start."

Harry hid a grimace, then he glanced at his watch. "It's getting late and we best return to the Weyr. Jasper, get to know Ralaninth. As Senior dragon, he's pretty much in charge until he picks a Weyrleader. He can also contact me, should you need any help or need questions answered."

The dragons of Campbeltown had been sunning themselves on the rooftops of the hangars. At a silent command from Harry, they glided down to the tarmac and the riders started walking over to them.

Harry shook Brady's hand, then he turned and started walking towards Chekiath. _"Ralaninth, thank you for your help today. Speak to me if you need anything,"_ Harry sent.

"_You have our thanks, Weyrleader. None of this would have been possible without your help. We will work very hard to make this a Weyr to be proud of,"_ Ralaninth replied.

"_I know you will. We'll talk again soon."_

Harry climbed up to his spot on Chekiath and thumped his side affectionately. "It's going to be a good Weyr, Cheki. I'm sure of it."

Jasper Brady watched the riders vanish, then he picked up his jacket and trudged towards his car and the trip back to the motel. He decided he'd call home tonight and speak with his wife about moving to New Mexico. Brady's decision would be a pivotal point in his life and would help boost his career to heights he never dreamed of attaining.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, October 3rd...**

Harry walked into the hall to get some lunch. A quick glance around reminded him of a detail he wanted to deal with. He filled his tray, then walked over to the table where Sir Robert and several others sat.

"May I join you?" he asked.

Sir Robert and Mrs. Malfoy looked up in surprise, then Sir Robert grinned, "Sit, sit, my boy. All are welcome."

Harry sat down with a smile. "Interesting that you should say that, Sir Robert," he said, then he turned to Narcissa. "Mrs. Malfoy, you're aware that the Ministry has dropped all charges against you. I also understand that the people working with Gringotts are trying to determine how much money was stolen from you. I don't know if they'll be able to recover all of it, but they will try."

Narcissa arched an eyebrow and looked at him pointedly. "Is this your subtle way of saying it's time for me to leave?"

Harry chuckled. "You know, Sirius said you would say that. No, actually, what I wanted to say is that you're welcome here and I hope you will continue to stay. You have taken upon yourself to relieve Sir Robert of a heavy workload and that makes you valuable to the Weyr. You are welcome to stay as long as you wish. I'm certain that Draco wouldn't mind his mum close by."

Narcissa blushed and looked down and Sir Robert chortled merrily.

"What did I tell you, Narcissa?" he asked.

She glanced over at the old man who she was coming to consider almost as a beloved Uncle. "You did. It was my own fault for not fully believing you," she said softly, then she straightened her back and turned back to Harry. "I ruined my chance to be Draco's mum, Harry, but I would like to be here to be a grandmum to his children."

"Good. Sir Robert needs your help. And being here, I think, has helped you, as well," Harry said. "Just don't feel that you need to be confined here. You and Sirius both have pretty much either stayed at the Weyr, or at best only gone into Campbeltown proper. You can go shopping again at Diagon Alley if you want."

Narcissa nodded and felt shamed by Harry's acceptance. Sirius said she had a chance, but she'd never really understood that until now.

Harry quickly finished his meal and started to stand. He stopped when Narcissa reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Harry, I'm sorry. For everything."

He nodded and gave her a smile, then he turned and walked from the room. Narcissa presented him with a personal problem. She was a marked Death Eater, but she had been honestly working for the benefit of the Weyr and it seemed to him that she had put aside her bigotry. The dragons also vouched for her, which meant a lot to him. It would have been easy for him to hate her, but he just couldn't.

Narcissa sat silently. Her life had completely turned around in such a short time. Lucius was dead and part of a past she was now ashamed of. _Maybe I'll talk to Michelle again. If I'm going to live here, I'll need to know how to shop in muggle stores. She can show me that,_ she mused to herself.

Narcissa didn't realize it, but asking the young girl to help her go shopping would draw the two closer together.

**#10 Downing Street, London, October 5th...**

As Harry tugged at his tie uncomfortably, James chuckled. "I know you'd rather be elsewhere, Harry, but do try to relax. The Prime Minister asked you to come here to tell him about your progress. There's no need to be nervous."

Harry's hand dropped into his lap. "It's not nerves, it's this tie! It always feels like it's one step shy of choking me."

James shook his head. "You'll get used to it. You can't expect to wear your flight suit all the time. As for your suit, well, I meant for us to get you refitted. That jacket is too tight across your shoulders and I'm sure your shirts are in the same condition. Besides, I understand that the girls are working on a formal uniform for special occasions."

Harry grimaced at that. He didn't know it at the time, but May and Karen took his acceptance of their flag as official permission to work on designing some clothing for the riders. It didn't help that their new flight suit was more comfortable and much more utilitarian. The old flight suit had many pockets that were useless under the bulky jacket. The girls moved the pockets and made them deeper. The suit itself was insulated, which allowed for a lighter and less bulky jacket to be used.

They only had two of the new suits so far, but all of the riders had unanimously approved of them, especially when they discovered the steel wire belt sewn into the waist which allowed the rider to easily attach themselves to the riding harness. Karen Khan had even located a company which would make the suits for the riders at a reasonable cost.

With two successes under their belt, the girls started looking at the idea of a formal uniform for special occasions, like meeting the Queen. At the moment they were playing with a design that resembled the dress Royal Navy uniform and it seemed to be popular with the girls. It was too late to stop them, and even Harry had to admit that a uniform would reinforce their sense of identity and unity.

James laughed a little louder and the secretary glanced over at the pair before going back to her typing.

A tall, blond haired man entered the office and spoke softly to the secretary. She smiled brightly at him then she stood and turned to Harry and James. "Gentlemen, if you would follow me please?"

She walked over to the door and opened it for the three men and held it open while they entered the Prime Minister's office. Inside, Harry wasn't surprised to see Sir Robert standing and turning to greet them. John Major also stood and waved them in.

The secretary followed them in and bustled around serving tea and coffee, then she exited the room.

"If I may," began Major, "I'd like to start by introducing Ole Lønsmann Poulsen who is currently serving as the Danish Ambassador to Great Britain. Mister Ambassador, on behalf of Her Majesty's government, we would like to thank you for clearing your calendar to meet with us today. We have an issue of mutual interest that we need to discuss.

"Before I start, let me state that the information I am about to share with you is considered secret by Her Majesty's government. Only a privileged few are aware of it, and while I expect you would share this with your government, I am relying on your discretion to keep the release of this information to a minimum."

Poulsen looked surprised, then he reluctantly nodded.

Major smiled. "Excellent. Let me begin by introducing you to Sir Robert March, chief scientific advisor to Her Majesty's government, and one of the principle scientific minds who helped formulate this government's policy concerning a 'First Contact' scenario."

"First Contact?" Poulsen said, the confusion evident in his voice.

Major glanced over to Sir Robert, who smiled and turned to Poulsen.

"Sir, if I may, even if you discount all the stories of UFO's and Aliens, there is one undeniable fact," Sir Robert began. "The universe is so large and diverse that sooner or later we are bound to meet with a race of intelligent beings from another planet. First contact is a scientific term for such a meeting and our plan defines what should be done, and by who. The whole point of the exercise is to try to minimize the chance of a misstep, which could lead to the encounter turning sour."

The ambassador nodded. "I understand that, but I don't see why I am here."

"You're here because nearly a year ago we had our first contact with a race of intelligent creatures who have been hiding right under our very noses for thousands of years," Major answered with a bit of a grin.

Poulsen looked at the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and shook his head in disbelief.

John Major smiled. He could well imagine what thoughts were running through the Ambassador's mind. "Mr. Ambassador, let me say this right now. Everything I am telling you is not only true, but you'll see for yourself. We have a helicopter standing by to take you to the location where some of these beings are living so you can meet them."

Major turned towards Harry. "With your permission, Weyrleader?" he asked.

Harry looked up and nodded quickly. "I don't have a problem with it. We aren't doing anything special at the Weyr today."

Poulsen glanced at Harry and his confusion only deepened.

Harry frowned. "Sir, I think we might be moving a bit fast for the Ambassador."

Sir Robert nodded. "Yes, I think so, too. We need to back up a bit. Mr. Ambassador, your embassy has a department M, like most embassy's in the world. You are aware of it?"

Poulsen nodded. "Yes, they represent the wizarding society."

Sir Robert smiled. "Yes, they do. What we didn't know was that our wizards were hiding an important fact from us. We learned there are many other intelligent races in the world, and most of them are suppressed and poorly treated by the wizarding society. In December of last year, we learned about one race that was treated as cattle. They were herded into reserves and slaughtered by wizards for meat and ingredients, leather for boots and clothing and so on."

"All that changed," Lord Mills said, "when I caught this lad buying my flocks of sheep in the middle of the night. I very shortly discovered that, through an act of fate, this teenager had become responsible for an entire race of intelligent beings. Being totally unprepared for such a bizarre thing, I contacted Sir Robert, who has been helping us ever since."

Poulsen nodded slowly, "And the reason for calling me today? How does Denmark fit into this?"

"You fit into this because the dragons, long before Denmark existed, used an island off the coast of Greenland, which you currently control. One could make a case that the dragons actually own Greenland, but we're willing to forgo that particular exercise. All we'd like is permission to use the island twice a year for our hatchings," Harry said, jumping into the conversation.

Poulsen blinked and stared at Harry, while everyone else winced.

Harry looked around and noted the looks he was being given. "What? Sooner or later you'd have to tell him what they are. Ambassador, thanks to the wizards, an entire race of intelligent dragons has been treated like little more than cattle for centuries, but the dragons have existed on this planet since the time of the Wooly Mammoths. They were flying our skies while our ancestors cowered in fear from fire and panicked at a lunar eclipse. If you will allow it, I'll be happy to introduce you to beings that are every bit as intelligent as you are.

"We can pay for the use of the island, if that is an issue, or we can approach another country if Denmark is unwilling to allow it. There aren't many places that can provide an active caldera that we can use, but we know most of them," Harry said.

John Major looked pained and James Mills was unable to hide his amusement at Harry's comments.

"He is right," Sir Robert said. "Once we have the design finalized for the power plant, I expect we'll be constructing a lot of them. The Weyr will have the resources to lease land anywhere in the world."

"Ambassador, might I introduce you to Weyrleader Harry Potter? Her Majesty's government currently recognizes the Weyrleader and his dragons as a race of indigenous people who have no homeland. The Weyrleader is right, however. They can lay claim to territory across the globe which they have lived on for hundreds of centuries. They aren't asking for that land back. What they are asking for is the right to live and be recognized as people with all the rights and privileges of people.

Poulsen looked around in bewilderment.

"_Harry, I think we should show him,"_ Chekiath announced privately.

Harry nodded, grateful that his dragon hadn't spoken to everyone. "Mr. Ambassador," he said softly, "May I invite you to visit our Weyr and meet with the dragons? I'm sure you have hundreds of questions which we can clear up for you. Right now you're sitting in this plush office and it all sounds like a fairy tale. All I ask is you suspend your disbelief for a few hours and give us an opportunity to prove it to you."

Poulsen nodded and Major looked relieved. The meeting was getting a bit out of hand. "Sir Robert will escort you to the Weyr, Mr. Ambassador. He can answer a lot of your questions in route and I'm sure the Weyrleader will be there to meet you. There is a helicopter standing by to bring you to the Weyr."

Harry nodded fervently. He didn't want to scare the man, but their beating around the bush was trying his patience. He had been studying with Mr. Franklin, who had told him there was a time to be precise and cautious and a time to be blunt. This seemed like one of those times to him.

Sir Robert gently led the ambassador out of the office and Major leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily.

"Now I am beginning to understand what you went through, Weyrleader," he said softly, then he turned and looked at Harry a bit hesitantly. "Weyr... Harry, if I may. I understand that you're young and sometimes it seems like politics and diplomacy are a great waste of time. While it worked out this time, the tendency to jump in and say what you want to say can work against you. Do try to remember that in the future."

Harry blushed and nodded. He understood that he could have been more tactful. "I'm sorry, sir. It just seemed like we kept dancing around the issue at hand. I've been working with your Mr. Franklin and he told me that sometimes you just have to push ahead to get to the important points."

Major smiled. "Yes, diplomacy can be like that. But it can also be painstakingly slow and tedious. I remember one time it took us a month of talks just to determine where we'd hold the meeting before we could even begin our talks."

Major ginned at Harry's astonishment. "Diplomacy can be measured in tiny steps, Harry. When you're dealing with someone you've just had a war with, you don't want to reignite that war, so you take things slowly. The Danes are our allies and you have more latitude with allies than you do with enemies, but always be cautious in your dealings with other nations. A single word misinterpreted can be disastrous."

Harry sighed and looked unhappy. "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have said..."

"No, Harry," James said firmly. "Perhaps your wording could have been better, but you'll learn. This isn't something that we can really expect you to be great at. You're only fifteen, after all, and the art of diplomacy comes not just from study, but also from experience."

Major nodded. "He's right. Normally we don't let anyone under the age of thirty act as a diplomatic representative. Usually they spend years as assistants and junior under secretaries. This is one of the things your tutor will help you with."

Harry nodded uncertainly, then he stood. "I guess I better return to the Weyr so I can meet the Ambassador when he arrives."

"I'll brief the Prime Minister on our candidates," James offered.

Harry nodded and left the office.

Once the door closed, Lord Mills and the Prime Minister exchanged amused looks.

"Did you see Poulsen's look when Harry mentioned the dragons could press an older claim to Greenland?" Major said with amusement.

"He's trying, John. I know he's been reading the books your office sent over," James offered.

Major waved a hand, brushing off the comment. "It's fine, James. It's actually refreshing to jump straight into a topic rather than spending forty minutes approaching it obliquely. He'll learn. Even with what he told the Ambassador, he never raised his voice or faltered in his explanation. It was a measured delivery all the way through. I couldn't do that until I was twenty eight. I can already see Franklin's influence on him."

**Campbeltown Weyr, October 6th...**

Harry trudged tiredly from Hangar two to his quarters. It was early afternoon and most of the riders were just coming from their lessons, heading toward the kitchen hall to get a snack, or toward the social hall. He had skipped today's classes because he had another meeting with Ambassador Poulsen about Disko Island.

Suddenly a dragon bellowed and he turned to see what was causing the commotion. Around him several other riders gathered to watch as Momnarth grabbed a sheep and tore it apart. The large dragon bent her head down and lapped at the blood.

"She's blooding her kill," he murmured.

"She's what?" asked Ronan.

Harry nearly jumped in surprise. Ronan and Draco stood nearby watching the same scene. He pointed to Momnarth, "She's blooding her kill. She's getting ready for a mating flight that will result in an egg. If they rise for a mating flight normally they don't do this, but she did this last time. Watch her carefully, her scales will become darker and darker as she bloods."

Ronan frowned and pointed to the other female dragons nearby. "And them?"

"They will probably do the same thing. We're contributing five eggs to this hatching. Maziang will contribute five eggs, as will each of the three American Weyrs. The rest will come from the other Weyrs," Harry replied uneasily. The flight hadn't started and already he was feeling unsettled.

Four other females stood off to one side, watching and waiting their turn. They knew it was dangerous to have females mating so close together, so each would pick a different direction to fly when they rose after blooding their kills.

Momnarth glanced over at the group of nearly a hundred male dragons, all in their prime, and she bellowed a challenge at them, then she sprang for another sheep.

"She's going to try to out fly all that?" exclaimed Draco.

Harry shook her head. "No. See how they are in clusters? Spath said the dragons worked it out before hand. I didn't get into all the details. As long as they are happy with the arrangement, we'll go with it."

"That's her fifth animal," muttered Draco in awe.

Harry nodded, "She'll go soon. It's about the same amount as last time. Look at her."

Momnarth was now a dark brown with faint hints of gold in her coloring. She turned her long neck and looked at her would be suitors, then she bellowed again and launched herself skyward.

"Lord, look at her fly!" exclaimed Ronan.

The Horntail, full of hot blood, with the mating instinct riding her, was moving faster and more sinuously than any dragon could under normal circumstances. A group of twenty or so males bellowed and sprang skyward, following Momnarth. It was a mixed group, containing every dragon breed there was. The large dragons had the stamina, but the smaller ones had the agility. It was now a race to see who could catch the Horntail.

Harry fought the wave of lust that washed over him and he turned and quickly headed towards his quarters.

"_It'll get easier, Harry,"_ Chekiath said privately.

"_I hope so, mate,"_ he replied shakily. For some reason, the closer he was to a dragon, the more affected he was by their mating.

Ronan looked around as another female started to blood her kills. "Where did Harry go?"

Draco glanced around then turned back to Ronan. "He probably went to his quarters. Michelle said the mating flights affect him more than they do us."

Ronan nodded and looked thoughtful. He'd talk to Karen later about it. Karen wasn't a gossip, but she listened to everything. If there was someone who would know what was going on, it would be her.

It would only be a few more days before the dragons moved to Disko, but Hagrid was already instructing the elves in what to do there. The flock was being moved into some pens and more tents were being erected to handle the larger group.

The gravid females would arrive early. None of them wanted to risk going Between when they were heavy with egg and everyone agreed that was a safe precaution. As to the candidates, they wouldn't arrive until early November.

The cluster of riders slowly broke up as the dragons flew overhead. It was, to many, a sign of things to come and not one among them didn't wonder how it would affect them when their turn came.

**Administration Building, Campbeltown Weyr, October 7th...**

Lord Mills looked up when he heard the knock at his door. "Come in!" he called.

Harry entered and sat down in front of his desk. "I got your email. What's up?"

James smiled. "Well, we managed it, but I dare say it wasn't easy, even with Ambassador Poulsen's help."

Harry leaned back and smiled in return. "They agreed? The way everyone was talking, I thought it was going to take months. I was about to move the entire hatching here!"

James nodded. "Yes, they agreed. Between Ambassador Poulsen and Sir Robert, they managed to convince the powers that be. It helped greatly that they had several reports from Sir Robert detailing use of dragon produced Hot Rocks and their applications."

James tried and failed to hide a grin. No matter how hard Sir Robert campaigned against the name, Hot Rocks just wouldn't go away.

Harry's grinned broadened. Sir Robert had started to compile a list of what he called 'applications', which extended the use of Hot Rocks far beyond just generating electricity. He even had a dream of reviving steam locomotives, using the clean power source provided by the dragons.

"So, what do they want in return?" He asked.

James lifted a page off his desk and glanced down at it. "They would like to participate in some of the research efforts and are willing to help fund those. We don't have a problem with that. They would also like at least one of the first five power stations to be built in Denmark, using Danish companies. Again, that's fairly standard. If you picked a British company to do the construction, they'd have to move their equipment, which would drive up costs considerably."

Harry nodded, then a thought occurred to him. "James," he said worriedly, "is someone setting up a company or something? I mean, who's going to be building this stuff?"

James smiled. "I wondered when that would hit you," he replied. "You can relax. The British government is funding the basic research into the design for the power plants. We're already in talks with several manufacturers to license the designs. I'm setting up a parent company, owned jointly by the UK and by the dragons, which will hold the patents, oversee the license process and deliver Hot Rocks as needed. The government involvement will remain until it's recovered the costs and the dragons, with you as their representative, will have a majority share in the company. At a certain time, the government will probably sell off its shares at a public offering, or offer their share to the dragons to be bought back."

"More stuff for me to learn?"

"Hardly. If you'll take some advice, let Karen find some people to help her and let her worry about it," James replied.

Harry pulled out his book and looked through it. "Karen mentioned wanting to take classes in business and economics, so I guess this will fit into that."

James chuckled, "It certainly will." Reaching down, he lifted another piece of paper from his desk. "How are we on female dragons now?" he asked.

"Five from our Weyr rose to mate. Maziang had five rise and Condron, Mount Hood and Knick Glacier combined for another fifteen total," Harry replied.

"But that's only twenty five dragon eggs," protested James.

Harry nodded. "It is, but we had a number of Weyrs around the world contribute an egg. It will be years before all of the Weyrs are staffed with riders, this way everyone feels they are contributing. As to candidates, we hope to offer one hundred and forty people. I hate to offer so many, as that just means disappointed candidates who won't get chosen, plus it means more work for us. Spath and I are looking into ways of reducing that number. He seems to think that if the candidates handle the eggs before hatching, it may start the imprinting process early."

James stared at Harry in astonishment. "Will you try that?"

Harry nodded. "I think so. Twenty people will be kept in reserve, but available at Disko. If the initial candidates all impress like Spath thinks, then we'll make sure that twenty are part of the next group."

"How will you decided which egg goes to which candidate?"

"I'm not sure, but I think the easiest way is to let the mothers pick. Call it a gut feeling, but I think that will work," Harry replied.

"When will we know the final egg count?"

"By the sixteenth, at the latest. I expect our five dragons will leave for Disko in a few more days. And the egg will be laid between the fourteenth and the sixteenth. Hagrid has been visiting Disko daily to get everything ready. I expect it to be around one twenty, say plus or minus four to six eggs. I'd rather be on the high side, actually."

Harry paused and looked thoughtful, "You know, we should consider ourselves lucky. The Pern dragons were capable of laying up to one hundred eggs. Even without controlling their laying abilities, the best our dragons can do is three to six eggs. We think they can do more, but we have no proof of it, other than their say so. And I'm not about to let one female contribute twenty or more eggs when I'm asking the others to strictly limit themselves."

"Perhaps the large number of eggs is driven by the imperative to fight thread?" offered James.

Harry smiled slightly and nodded. "It could be, but again I'm not about to dig up some thread to test it either."

The pair shared a laugh at the idea. Nobody wanted that.

**Diagon Alley, October 8th...**

Chekiath and Neruth flew in low over the alley, giving the people on the street a chance to see them, then they banked hard and aimed for a point right in front of the newly reopened Ollivanders' Wand shop.

Wizards scattered out of the way as the two dragons lightly touched down. Neruth was about ten feet longer than a typical Norwegian Ridgeback and Chekiath barely had enough room to land next to her. Harry dropped lightly to the ground and waited patiently for Karen Khan to dismount. She was a petite girl, which made the distance from the top of Neruth's shoulders to the ground seem greater than it was.

Once she was down, Harry was about to order the dragons to find a perch when a small voice intruded.

"Are those real dragons?"

Harry turned to see a small boy of about six standing a few feet away, looking up at Chekiath with wide eyes. He held the hand of a smaller girl, who seemed to be afraid of the dragon.

Harry smiled and knelt on one knee. "They are very real and very gentle. Don't be afraid of them, they won't hurt you."

The little boy nodded with wide eyes and the little girl looked at Harry as if she didn't believe him.

"What are your names?" Harry asked.

"I'm William and this is my sister Connie," replied the little boy.

"Hello, William and Connie. I'm Harry and this is my best friend, Cheki," Harry said.

Chekiath turned his large head and moved close enough for Harry to reach out and rub along his eye ridges. _"Hello little wizard and little witch,"_ Chekiath said with a rumble.

"He talks!" exclaimed Connie excitedly. "Does he know Puff?"

"_Puff would be a funny name for a dragon,"_ Chekiath replied. _"I don't know Puff but I haven't met all the dragons in the world."_

Connie looked a little disappointed, but she moved a little closer, intrigued by Cheki's eyes which were slowly twirling with streaks of blue and green.

"He likes his head scratched, like this," Harry said, scratching around Cheki's eye ridges. "Would you like to try?"

William nodded and he reached with his free hand.

"William!" shouted a voice.

Harry glanced up to see a woman, obviously the children's mother, hanging back with a look of panic in her eyes. He smiled at her while her son scratched Cheki's eye ridges. "Don't worry," he told the mother. "Cheki would never harm the children."

The woman stood uncertainly while Cheki thrummed with pleasure. A light flashed and Harry looked over to see a photographer taking a picture. He sighed. He knew sooner or later the press would get involved.

"Harry, we need to get going. It's nearly time for our appointment," Karen said.

Harry nodded and turned back to the two children, who by now were enthralled with the huge dragon. "It's time for us to go," he said a bit sadly.

He led the children back to their mother, who took them in her arms. She also had trouble tearing her eyes from the huge dragon.

"_Little witch, if I ever meet Puff, I will tell him you were asking about him,"_ Cheki offered.

"Thank you, Cheki!" exclaimed the little girl with a bright smile.

Harry nodded and the two dragons sprang into the air, they quickly found a spot to perch and sat watching the still frozen traffic in the alley.

Harry turned and hurriedly walked to the entrance of Ollivanders before the photographer and reporter could realize they were gone. Like everyone else in the alley, they were staring up at the dragons, who were staring back down at them.

Harry grabbed the door and held it for Karen. She smiled and entered the dusty old shop.

As usual, Ollivanders just appeared before them, causing Karen to gasp and step back in surprise.

"I always said you would do great things, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said softly. He waved towards the window. "That encounter in front of the shop is a perfect case in point. You could not have driven home the point that dragons are not dangerous any easier than by having a small boy scratching the dragon's head."

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. "His sister was afraid of the dragon. I just wanted to show them that the dragon wouldn't hurt them."

"That you did, my boy. That you did. I received the message your elf brought asking for a meeting. How can Ollivanders assist you and your dragons?"

"Mr. Ollivander, I would like to introduce you to Miss Karen Khan, Neruth's rider. She has been exploring opportunities for the dragons to earn their own way in the world with our help. One of those ways concerns you and your business."

Ollivander arched an eyebrow and looked over at Karen. "I don't believe I've ever sold you a wand, Miss Khan."

Karen smiled tightly at him. She had dealt with this sort of wizarding attitude before. "I'm Neruth's rider, I have no need for magic," she replied firmly, then she reached into a pouch tied to her belt and withdrew a handful of scales ranging from four to twelve centimeters in diameter. "The Weyr is currently producing an average of six hundred scales a month and we expect that number to steadily increase. I understand that the scales can be cut up to be used in wand cores. All of our magical riders now have wands crafted by Professor Dumbledore, or crafted under his instruction."

Ollivander perked up and looked interested. "Eh? What happened to their wands?"

Harry stepped forward when Karen hesitated. "Some of us still have our original wands. In the case of those with heartstring cores, the wizards were bonded to a dragon who found the wand very disturbing. It would be like crafting a lamp using the bones of your ancestor. Hermione Granger, for example, had a Vinewood and heartstring core. Once her new wand was ready, she and her dragon destroyed the old wand using dragon fire."

"_It was most unsettling,"_ Chekiath added. _"Comaloth loves Hermione, but the wand made her unhappy and very uneasy."_

Ollivander's eyes widened at hearing Chekiath in his head.

"Mr. Ollivander, we understand you are a wand maker, but we're hoping you'd be willing to become the middle man to providing scales to other wand makers, or perhaps point us to someone who can do this?"

Ollivander sat heavily on a stool and stared at the floor. "Destroyed? Oh my, oh my," he muttered. He took a heavy breath then he looked up at Harry. "It's very unusual for a wizard to willingly destroy their first wand. I'm am sorry to hear that, but I think I can understand the reasoning."

"And the scales?" prompted Karen.

Ollivander smiled at the girl. "It is a pity you have no magic, my dear. I think you would have made a fine witch," he told her gently. Then, sitting up straight, he addressed the issue at hand. "Ollivander's specializes in casting devices, but I have a nephew who isn't very good at wand crafting. He had been looking for a related field, something to keep it in the family, as it were, and this may be just the thing. I will have him contact you. He may be a terrible wand crafter, but he's a good salesman and would be ideal for selling your core materials."

Harry grinned. "We can be reached via owl now. Send your letter to Remus Lupin. He'll see it's delivered."

Karen flushed slightly and looked away. The very first owl she had received caught her by surprise. Not knowing about owl mail delivery, when the bird had arrived, she'd panicked and fled from her office with the owl in pursuit. No one had told her about owl post and her reaction was about what one could expect from a city girl who had never been exposed to an owl before, let alone one intent on its delivery!

"So, tell me, Mr. Potter. Did Albus make the wands for your people?"

Harry nodded. "He did. But once it generated enough interest, he held a workshop where we all crafted a wand using a scale from our own dragons," Harry said, then he pulled out his spare wand.

Ollivander stared for a moment, then he held out his hand. "May I?"

Harry nodded and presented the wand to him, handle first.

Ollivander took the wand and held it up close to his eyes. "Elm," he muttered, "and quite rigid, too." He examined the wand carefully, trying to spot the seam, but he couldn't see it. "This is really excellent work, Mr. Potter. Yes, for a first wand, even my old master, a harsh, miserable, cantankerous old man, would have called this acceptable."

Ollivander handed the wand back to Harry with a smile. "I must congratulate Albus. I never thought he would be capable of teaching such a difficult subject."

Harry re-holstered his spare wand and looked at Ollivander. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Ollivander. Please have your nephew contact us soon. I would like to start supplying scales at least to the British Wand Makers to start."

Ollivander smirked at Harry, knowing exactly what he was saying. He would sell the scales only to those societies that had stopped trying to cull dragons. At the moment, there were only a handful of countries doing that; the UK and most of their commonwealth nations, the United States and Tibet.

Ollivander waved and turned to Karen. He reached for her hand and pulled it up to lay a soft kiss against her knuckles. "My dear, it is our loss that you are not a witch, but I think you and your dragon will do quite well. Especially with Mr. Potter leading your merry little band."

Harry led Karen out of the shop a few moments later and she turned to him.

"He's creepy," she said softly.

Harry laughed. "I think he does that on purpose. Let's do a little shopping before we head home. I want to pick up a few items."

Karen nodded uncertainly and moved a little closer to Harry. This was a world she had only a small exposure to and it made her uncomfortable.

**Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, October 8th...**

Harry walked into the large room and placed the large bag at his feet, then he looked around, noting everyone was present. Karen glanced up at Harry and smiled from her place next to Ronan. She had promised to keep secret about his shopping spree. In return, he made sure he took care of her, as well.

"Folks," he called and waited for everyone to settle down.

Lee Jordan turned down the radio that was playing and everyone turned to look at him.

"I know it's been a while since the Ministry of Magic fell, and we've been all working very hard. Today, Karen and I went to see Ollivander's about arranging for us to sell some of our dragon scales for wand cores. After that, I took the liberty of picking up a few items."

Harry opened the bag and with a swish of his wand, small containers flew out from the bag and landed in a neat pile on a table next to him. Then he reached in and pulled out another container. He took the container and walked over to Karen, handing it to her. "Here you go! Fortescue's finest mint chocolate chip ice cream, as promised."

Harry waved to the pile on the table. "Dig in, folks. Dobby has put away the large five gallon containers, but I thought you might want some of the finest ice cream in the world."

Turning back to the bag, he waved to Draco, who walked over to him. He pulled out four large boxes and handed them to Draco. "Place three of these on the shelf for now, and set up the last set. I bought the sets that didn't require a wizard's magic to operate. If you can't find someone to play against, I'll play a game to show them how it's done."

Draco grinned and took the boxes eagerly. Harry turned and picked up the bag, then he walked over to the table where May, Hermione, Luna, Susan and Emma were sitting. Emma seemed to be practically drooling into her half pint of chocolate demise. Harry shook his head in amazement. How she could have maintained her perfect teeth with her chocolate addiction confounded him.

Placing the bag on the table, he reached in and pulled out a stuffed wolf, which he placed to one side. When Hermione snickered, he blushed. "It's for Remus," he muttered defensively.

He pushed the bag toward Hermione and May, who looked at him with interest. "I know we'd been working with books that Albus borrowed from Hogwarts, and even then it wasn't a very good selection, so I picked up several books on potions and magical animal care. One of the books is actually a manual on how to research potions for magical animals. I don't know how good they are, but I thought you girls would be interested."

Hermione grabbed the bag and started pulling books out, while the other girls clustered around and examined the growing pile. Harry smiled at the group who were now ignoring their ice cream in favor of the books, then he turned and walked over to the corner and made himself a cup of tea.

A few moments later, he joined Sirius, Remus, Dan and Doctor O'Connor at their table. With a grin, he handed the stuffed wolf to Remus, who looked at it, then looked at him, puzzled. Reaching out, Harry tapped the toy with his wand. The wolf immediately sat down on the table, lifted it's muzzle and howled.

"I figured you wouldn't want to forget what you've gone through," Harry said with a teasing smile.

Remus looked at the toy, immobile once more, then he glanced towards Sirius, who was barely concealing his laughter. Mildred started to giggle and that was all it took for Sirius to slide out of his chair. He sat under the table laughing in that strange barking laugh of his.

Harry leaned back and sipped his drink. He glanced over toward Draco, who was busy explaining Wizarding Chess to Michelle, and sighed with relief. Draco wouldn't need him and he wouldn't have to show his riders just how bad a chess player he really was.

**#10 Downing Street, London, October 9th...**

Sir William O'Hearny walked into the office and Prime Minister Major waved a greeting. Sir William nodded, approached the PM's desk and placed a newspaper on it for everyone to examine.

Major leaned forward and picked up the paper, which had a huge photo of Harry, his dragon and two small children. "Is this the beast we learned to fear?" he said, reading the headline. He briefly skimmed the article, which explained how Chekiath talked with two small children and they scratched his head. The scene played out in front of him and he found it heartwarming. It was a sign of change, and a positive one.

He smiled and passed the paper to Lord Kennewick.

"Its nice to see someone is getting some good news," he said sourly.

Sir William looked at Lord Kennewick curiously.

"With that comment, let's start," Major said.

Kennewick nodded, then he placed the paper on the coffee table and opened his briefcase. He withdrew a folder and opened it. "MI5 is seeing an increase in intelligence activity from the Chinese, but that was to be expected.

"Additionally, there's been a second COSMOS launch over our territory. We've confirmed they are using old SS-25 missiles as a launch platform, which explains the short duration of the flight. Comparing the trajectory of the first COSMOS launched in August to this one, we found a few common points."

He paused and pulled out a sheet which he handed to Major. "Unlike our friends in the U.S., a single pass of a COSMOS is usually enough to cover the entirety of England, Scotland and Wales. The difference in the two overflights allowed MI6 analysts to put together the list of possible points of interest that the Russians might be looking at."

Major glanced down at the paper and frowned. The list included some of the largest military bases and research centers in Scotland.

"Damn," he muttered. No one wanted a return to the cold war. He looked up from the list. "What else have you got?"

Kennewick glanced down at his folder. "MI6 reports an increase of staff at the Chinese Embassy thanks to that spy the dragons discovered. We've also noted a small but noticeable increase in tourists from China, which in itself is very unusual. Scotland is not exactly tourist country at this time of year, after all. MI6 is monitoring the situation and they've asked MI5 to place a few officers in Campbeltown proper to keep an eye on things."

MI5 couldn't place officers in the Weyr, but they could place people in the town of Campbeltown.

"Sir William's people put us in touch with an expatriate citizen now living in Canada who's put together some really good information for us. It took a bit of talking to get him to understand we weren't representing the old Ministry of Magic, but once he believed us, he came on board very quickly.

"Thanks to Mr. Cresswell, we've been able to determine that most of the European countries are not under anyone's control other than their normal government. In most cases, we have the Wizards ignoring the regular governments and trying very hard to pretend they don't exist.

"MI6's special M branch has compiled a list of countries under three different categories. The first designation is 'Uncontrolled', meaning the regular government is in full control of the country, even if they are not totally aware of everything their wizarding counterparts are doing. Canada, Australia and Japan are prime examples of such countries. We also recently added France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden to this list.

"The second designation is 'Misinformed', which means that the regular government is either unaware of the wizards or unaware of what they are doing. The Misinformed group mostly contains countries who's government is aware of magic, but the wizards are deliberately trying to keep them ignorant of what's happening with the Wizards. It also included United States, until recently. I think it would be safe to say the wizarding governments in these countries should be considered as possible hostile. This included most of the middle eastern countries and, we suspect, China, based on the report filed by the Weyrleader.

"The third designation is 'Controlled' and these countries are those whose regular government is completely subservient to the Wizarding government. They list Italy and Greece as certainties. Other countries such as Spain and Russia are strong possibilities.

"Right now, my department is exploring our options and we are leaning towards a coalition type arrangement. Our hope is that the threat of going public, backed by a possible multinational force, including wizards, may be enough to cause the Wizards to release their grip on the country."

Kennewick handed the papers over to Major, who read them briefly.

"And your side of things, Sir William?" he asked, looking over the edge of the papers.

"I'm pleased to say that things are actually settling down on our side. A bulk of our wizards seem to be very indifferent to who is in charge, as long as they aren't inconvenienced. We've had a few incidents and made a few arrests, but generally, I would say that our wizards are unnaturally placid. I see more expressive behavior in some of Manchester United fans than I do in some wizards. On the other hand, we have heard a few rumors of unrest that we're tracking down, but it seems to be coming from a very fringe part of the population.

Major nodded. "Very well. We'll meet again soon. Cyril, keep me informed on this, please."

Both men stood and nodded. "Yes, sir," replied Lord Kennewick.

After the men filed from the office, Major reached for the newspaper that Sir William had brought. He examined the photo again and chuckled at the children confronting the dragon, then he folded it and placed it into the dispatch bag for Buckingham Palace. He was sure the Queen would enjoy seeing it.

**Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, October 9th...**

"Harry Potter, sir?"

Harry looked up from his desk. "Dobby?"

Dobby stood tugging on one ear and looking very nervous. Harry frowned, unable to think of any reason why Dobby would be so nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Harry Potter, sir, you said the Weyr would accept more elves if they needed a place to go?"

Harry blinked. "Yes. Elves will be welcome here or at the other Weyrs. Why? Do you know some elves that need a place to stay?"

Dobby nodded, looking relieved. "Many elves lose their homes. Some masters not like having to pay elves so they give them clothes."

Harry's frown deepened, "Tell your friends they are welcome here. There's going to be a lot of work in the coming weeks. We'll use the same pay grade the Ministry suggested for each elf."

Dobby smiled timidly and vanished with a pop.

Harry turned and reached for his keyboard, then he fired off a quick email to Dumbledore, explaining the problem.

He had thought this would happen. The new Ministry had mandated that the elves be paid a minimum of one galleon a week, with one day a week off, and some of the wizards, offended by this, opted to fire their elves entirely. Harry wasn't too upset about it. The five elves he had in the Weyr were equal to a much larger human work force. By hiring on more elves, the Weyrs would have a force in place capable of doing anything from erecting housing to cooking and cleaning.

_Idiots, _Harry grumbled to himself. _By firing the elves, they're left to fend for themselves and some wizards are incapable of doing the simplest of things! _

With a pop, Dobby reappeared in his office. A second later a bunch of elves appeared. Harry blinked and smiled reassuringly at the little beings. The wizarding world's loss was the Weyr's gain in his mind. He smiled at the idea of wizards discovering they couldn't even feed themselves.

"Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr," He said, standing and moving around to the front of his desk. "I know some of you don't want to be paid, but the law says I have to. If you don't want to be paid, money will be put aside for you in case you change your mind."

He paused and waited while the elves thought that over. When they all nodded, he continued. "There are wizards here, but there are also muggles. Those muggles already know about magic and house elves, so there is no need to hide yourselves. The other beings you will find here are dragons. Dragons who will not eat you, nor hurt you in any way. Dragons will be your friends, if you're willing."

Harry pointed towards Cheki's stall. The elves turned, then almost as one, they stepped back in fear.

"No, no," Dobby said, then he stepped up to Chekiath. "This is Cheki dragon and Dobby's friend. All dragons like Dobby."

"_I would never hurt you, Dobby. You're my friend and you give some of the best back scratches,"_ Cheki replied.

Harry grinned. He wasn't able to use elf magic, which is what Dobby used to scratch Cheki's back, reducing the dragon to a crooning puddle of bliss.

"Is this true, Harry Potter, sir?" asked one of the elves.

Harry turned and looked at the elf clutching at his pillow case timidly. "What's your name?"

"Spinksie, sir," replied the elf.

"Spinksie, the dragons lived for a long time without knowing who they were. But then they woke up and remembered. Now all they want is to live in peace and be friends with everyone, including elves," Harry replied.

Dobby motioned and Spinksie walked fearfully forward. The other elves gasped when Cheki looked at the little elf.

"_Hello, Spinksie. Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr. We would love for you to stay and live with us." _Cheki said, his eyes twirling with streaks of green.

Spinksie turned to Dobby. "Is all dragons like Cheki dragon?"

Dobby nodded. "Cheki is Harry Potter's dragon, but all dragons like elves. Dobby has many friends who are dragons."

Spinksie nodded and looked back at Cheki and smiled shyly. "Spinksie would like to work with friends," he said softly.

"Dobby will show you around today. He is the head elf here at Campbeltown. Take a day to get used to the place, then Dobby will tell you what needs to be done," Harry said, getting the elves' attention.

The elves nodded and Dobby looked at Harry expectantly.

"Talk to Susan Bones, Dobby. She wanted to pull down some of the older buildings. We'll start with that."

Dobby nodded and vanished. A moment later, the elves followed him.

"_I like elves,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry laughed. "You like anyone that is willing to scratch your back."

"_Very true, but you're still the best."_

Harry blushed and shook his head. He knew better than trying to argue with his dragon. He never won.

**Hangar Two, Campbeltown Weyr, October 15th...**

Harry smiled as he walked up to the stage. He had called an all hands meeting, mainly for the riders, but it was open to everyone and everyone had shown up.

He hopped up onto the stage and his smile broadened, then he waved his wand and a large "126" appeared on the white board in bright glowing letters.

"One hundred and twenty six eggs," he announced. "That was the count as of a little while ago when I left Disko Island. All of the clutching females are done laying and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the candidates."

A cheer broke out among the riders and Harry stood patiently until they quieted down again.

"As we discussed, we're going to let the mothers pick a candidate to help her care for their egg. Is Lisa Turpin here?" he asked.

"Here!" Lisa said from the back of the room. She hadn't impressed at the last hatching and Harry had promised she'd be allowed to try again.

He grinned. "Momnarth has specifically requested your help. She says you've learned more about yourself this past year and she thinks you're ready."

Lisa looked shocked, then her eyes filled with tears. She nodded and looked down. Momnarth was a highly respected dragon in the Weyr and to hear that endorsement shook her. Several of the riders shot her supportive looks and she smiled timidly in return. Lisa had been hovering around the fringe of the Weyr activities for months without having any real job to do other than attend classes. When Doctor Sheppard came to the Weyr, she slotted into a position in the clinic even better than Hermione and some of the other girls, who could only give part of their time to the clinic.

Harry nodded, then he looked over towards Susan, who seemed to be practically bouncing in her seat. "Susan, you look like you're about to burst. You have something you want to share?"

Susan stood. "Harry, what is the plan for the elves?"

He blinked at her. "Erm, well, I'm not sure. to be honest. Do you have an idea?"

She nodded eagerly. "We had a total of one hundred and eighteen empty buildings that were part of the old base housing. Of that, forty seven were too old or too damaged to salvage. I was sure we'd have to tear them down. Then Dobby appeared on my doorstep with his work crew.

"So far, the elves have repaired fifteen of the buildings I had planned to pull down. The buildings are now in better shape than some of the newer housing. The elves will move on to repairing all of the housing when they are done with the original forty seven."

She paused and took a deep breath. "My point is, elves are an untapped resource. I've been watching them assemble the buildings for the new research station and I'm certain the elves could erect the basic buildings in a third of the time, then allow the people to come in and finish the job. They love to clean things because it makes them feel needed, but they really love to build or fix stuff. I watched a two elf crew pull down a building and rebuild it using the original materials and do it in half a day."

Sir Robert stood up in the back of the room. "Are you saying let the elves assemble the basic building, then let the regular crews finish it, adding wiring, plumbing, interiors and so on?"

Susan turned to Sir Robert. "Yes, sir! I know it's asking for the elves to do something new, but I think they could follow instructions to put something up."

"They did just fine with the greenhouses," Remus added. "That was a basic kit, but they put together in a day what the plans said would take three days."

Susan nodded and turned back to Harry, looking at him expectantly.

"All right, Susan, let's just back up for a moment. We'll soon have another forty six riders. Do we have housing for them?"

She nodded. "We need to do the space enlargement charms and install the dragon doors, but we'll have it ready with Dobby's help. The mobile homes we were planning on buying can be canceled now. I've already spoken to Karen about it. Fortunately she hadn't placed the order yet."

Harry nodded. "All right, with enough housing, we're set. I'm not sure how well we'd be able to handle an elf construction company and hide it from the muggles, but it's something to explore."

"Perhaps for the same application we're using them for, Harry," Lord Mills said from his chair. "Military buildings or base housing. That sort of thing tends to be all prefabricated to start with and we'd be working with people used to dealing with secrets."

Harry nodded and looked back at Susan. "When we're certain everything is set here, talk to Sir Robert and Lord Mills about this. We might be onto a way of letting the elves earn their own way. Now, how is Disko?"

She smiled. "We now have twenty tents capable of holding twelve people per tent. That's a lot more space than we need. The kitchen and administration tents have been expanded. Once the riders have impressed, they'll move out of the tents, but I wanted to have extra space for guests and other staff.

"I've spoken with Dobby and he's planning a major feast following the impression and then a farewell feast when the new riders leave Disko for their Weyr tour."

"Condron Weyr will be fully ready to accept riders by the time they get back from training and Maziang has been building places for their riders. I won't say that it's something I'd want to live in, but it's far better than most of the villagers. Also, I saw something interesting when I was there last week. May and Hagrid might want to talk to their brewers. They seem to have a higher number of healing potions than we do."

May and Hagrid both looked up with interest.

Harry grimaced and summoned his book. "Damn," he muttered. "I knew that."

Susan looked at him, concerned. "Harry?"

He glanced down at an entry from months ago that he had never acted on. "I saw the same thing in our visit and made a note to mention it to Hagrid and May, then forgot it," he replied, looking chagrined.

"Maybe you should start from the beginning of your list and check for other items you've missed." suggested Remus.

Harry nodded, then he turned back to Susan. "Thank you, Sue. Do you have anything else for us?"

Susan shook her head and sat back down.

"All right, when you're sure that we're all set here, have Dobby take a few elves to Maziang and see if they can improve the housing the villagers have erected," he said.

She nodded and he gave her a slight bow in gratitude. He had originally tasked Susan and Hermione to assume the traditional head woman role, but Hermione had to bow out of that task, due to her Wing duties.

"Anyone else have anything?" asked Harry, looking around the room.

Emma stood and glanced over to Issac Sheppard, who nodded at her. "I have something," she said softly. "With the help of Issac and Major Atkins, we've arranged for all of the girls to see a gynecologist starting on the twentieth. I've posted a list of names and dates on my office door. Girls, check the list and see when you're scheduled for your visit. Finally, I will ask that all the girls meet in class room four this evening so I can explain what to expect."

Several of the girls looked unhappy with her announcement, but they all realized that time was counting down to their dragon's first mating flight.

"I will say this much. The doctor we will be seeing is a military physician and a woman," Emma said. "We'll be going to a military hospital using the Weyr minibus and Doctor Sheppard has agreed to come along to answer any questions you might have. I understand that some of you have never been to this type of doctor before, as magical medicine doesn't seem to have specialists like mundane medicine does, but believe me, it's important."

Issac stood and looked around with a wry grin. "Boys, I'll see you tonight in class room six, just after dinner. You might not have appointments with a special doctor like the girls do, but I want to make sure you're all as well informed as they will be."

Harry walked to the edge of the stage and looked at his riders, his jaw set. "I don't like this any more than you do," he said to his riders firmly. "We made a mistake with our first impression that we won't repeat. I have been instructed quite firmly by the Prime Minister to see that our personal lives remain private and do not become a matter of public knowledge. Once you are a legal adult, you are free to do what you want. Until that time, I do not want to find anyone having children. I'm not ready to be a parent and I doubt any among us are, at this point. Underage children having children of their own could be disastrous for the weyr."

Harry glanced down at his book, then he looked up. "Now, then, I expect our candidates to arrive on the third. Wing Three will go Between to meet with the candidates at Condron Weyr. We'll have two days of orientation and getting them used to going Between. On the fifth of November we'll take the candidates to Disko. That will give them enough time to learn about the dragons before the hatching.

"Make sure you're packed and ready to go on the fifth. Hagrid has a schedule of classes set up for the new riders and he has a listing of what he'll need to help out with that training. Wing seconds, look over Hagrid's listing and see what you can do to help schedule our riders to help out. I've spoken with Hagrid and at any given time only one Wing's worth of riders will be needed after the hatching. As such, we'll be returning to Campbeltown after the impression."

He paused and looked up from his list. "Any questions?"

"We're not going to stay and help out at Disko?" asked Lee Jordan.

He laughed. "I'm not going to let your willingness to volunteer get you out of math class, Lee."

Lee flashed him a brilliant smile, but there was more than a bit of truth in Harry's comment. He did hate math with a passion. Lee had an artistic soul and his drawings of dragons and riders were cropping up all over the Weyr, but math was something he struggled with.

The riders broke out in laughter and Harry waved them to silence. "We'll all take our turns helping out, but we have our own obligations, including math class."

A ripple of laughter ran through the riders as Lee sunk lower into his chair.

"Speaking of class, wizards are with me for charms. We'll see you after lunch for English literature," Harry called, dismissing them.

**Hogwarts Great Hall, October 15th...**

Neville Longbottom walked into the Great Hall and looked around. Something important had changed in him this year. Without meaning too, Neville was becoming a leader of the Gryffindor students his year and below.

He grinned and waved to Hannah Abbot and walked over to sit with her. The students had been issued workbooks by the muggles that detailed many of the subjects they would be tested on. Neville had been appalled, at first. Then he'd done what he thought Hermione would do. He'd organized study groups around the muggle born or half blood students who had attended muggle schools before coming to Hogwarts.

At first they filled the Gryffindor common room, but then people started asking about the groups and many people sent them to Neville for answers. As a result, he and a few others reorganized the groups and took over the Great Hall after dinner for their use.

"Neville, did you see this bit about muggles flying?" Hannah asked.

He smiled at the girl. He enjoyed her company and hoped that maybe something could come of that, but wasn't sure how to ask her or tell her how he felt. "History, right? The first great war or the second one?" he asked.

She blinked and sat back. "Does it matter which one?"

He chuckled. "Yes, it matters. Don't you believe they can fly?"

"But, but their muggles!" protested Hannah.

Neville reached across the table to gently close her book. "We fly brooms. The muggles fly aeroplanes. If you fight with every fact you'll never get anywhere. The best thing to do is take these books as being correct and go from there. They don't have any reason to lie to us and they have every reason to be proud of what they've accomplished."

He pulled her history text away from her and flipped to a section he had read the night before. He turned it so the photo on the page was visible and pushed the book back toward her.

Her eyes went huge at the image of Neil Armstrong standing on the surface of the moon, the Earth clearly visible in the background. "How is this possible? How could they do this without us knowing about it?" she whispered. She was unable to tear her eyes away from the picture.

Neville opened his own book and shrugged. "We knew, but we were so convinced we were better that we didn't want to recognize it. Look what happened to us, Hannah. Over eight hundred wizards attacked the goblins and they lost because they thought eight hundred was enough. Muggles, goblins and dragons killed all of the WDF, then they arrested Fudge and took over the Ministry.

"I think we're probably the lucky ones. When Harry was here with the dragons, I got the distinct impression that he'd do whatever was necessary to protect the dragons. I can't say for certain, but I'll wager good money that he was the reason muggles got involved in the first place."

"He hates us that much?" she exclaimed. "Even Susan?"

Neville shook his head. "No, you misunderstand me. Harry doesn't hate you or I. He hated a society that allowed dragons to be killed for their parts. I'm certain that he'd much prefer to live in peace, but until Wizards recognize the rights of the dragons and house elves and all the other thinking species that the new Minister has declared protected, he'll be there fighting for them."

Neville's voice dropped a register and he never noted the hushed silence around him as he spoke.

"I know Harry. He will react to protect anyone in trouble. That includes us, Hannah. Look around you. We're learning muggle subjects because at some point in our lives, the muggles are going to know about us and we're going to end up hoping the muggle government, and the dragons, will protect us from those muggles who might want to destroy us.

"I want to be worthy of that," Neville declared firmly. "I failed my friend once. I won't do so again."

Hannah looked at Neville with renewed interest. She was seeing a side of him he had never shown before.

All around the couple other wizards and witches looked down at their muggle study books and realized they had a greater meaning than they had been willing to believe. Perhaps it was time to stop living in the past.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- A note of thanks to everyone that left a signed review. A note of bleh to everyone that didn't. Roughly 60 unsigned reviews came in, including more than a dozen flames, threats and other idiocies. They were all gleefully deleted, but we thought we'd share some of those comments with you.

- Guest writes. "You assholes! Harry has a dragon that can melt steel and he let the muggles arrest the Dursleys! He should burn them to nothing dickheads!"

- Dear Guest, thank you for your stupid comment. Your inability to figure out how to login is surpassed only by your inability to think about what you're saying. Like we want to write a story about Harry spending his time inside a muggle jail? No thanks, but please feel free to write that story on your own.

- Guest writes. "You peeple suck!"

- Dear Guest, sigh. Bite us. And buy a spell checker.

- Guest writes. "I hate Hermione, she's a useless whiny annoying book worm. Hook Harry up with Luna and maybe May, or Katie Bell. And I really think Harry would make a neat phoenix animagus, he'd be able to fly anywhere then! Why haven't you sent Harry to Gringotts to get his vaults? You could make him Merlin's heir!"

- Dear Guest. We don't care that you don't like Hermione, or Random Girl created because the author needed a new girl in the story. Its our story. Vaults? Animagus? Merlin's heir? No, just no. Harry isn't rich in this story. He doesn't have vaults, he has one vault, his trust vault which had roughly 20K in galleons in it. He spent most of that money funding the Weyr in the beginning and the Weyr is paying it back. He has a dragon capable of flying him anywhere, so scratch the animagus, and since he's a dragon rider, being Merlin's Heir is like saying he's related to Napoleon Bonaparte. Big deal. Just no, no and no.

- Guest writes. "Please please please please please hook Harry up with Draco. He's so cool!"

- Dear Guest. Seek help. What part of we don't write slash don't you understand? Canon Draco is an ugly vile character only marginally better than Snape. And if this Draco is cool, it's because we made him so, but he's still not cool enough for us to consider writing slash. Haven't you been reading our grand Who Who epic?

And that's just a small sampling of what Guest had to say. Needless to say, not a single Guest review managed to make it to the review page and given some of the above, its understandable why it didn't make it. Many of those guest reviews were quite positive, but because they were unsigned, they got deleted. We meant what we said when we said we'd delete all unsigned reviews.

- Several have written about the two missing dementors and expressed concerns. I think it's safe to say that those two missing creatures have managed to hook up with dementors on the continent and won't be back as such. The Dementor population in the UK has been wiped out, but many other countries still have them, so the problem will pop up from time to time.

- Other crossovers. Some people have written suggesting their favorite anime and asking we write a cross over in that anime. I'm sorry to say this, but no. If we do not know the verse fairly well, then the odds of us being able to write a successful story are slim and frankly, I don't watch Japanese cartoons. So most animes are out.

- And finally, thanks to a change at FFN (Another?) One shots, short stories and the like stand to be lost due to the new popularity sorting methods available. Short stories, tend to have fewer reviews and that is a shame because there is some really good one shots out there. Therefore I'm going to start recommending some older, one shots or short stories that I personally like. If you like the story, drop them a review and boost them up!

Harry gets Motivated by BajaB

Story ID: 3427377 A one chapter look at a Harry that goes to extreme lengths to end the war. Its rather good. Highly recommended.

**Remember, Signed Reviews Good Idea, Unsigned Reviews, Bad Idea.  
ALL UNSIGNED REVIEWS ARE DELETED WITHOUT BEING READ!  
**

**TYPING YOUR ACCOUNT NAME IN THE NAME FIELD IN DOES NOT LOG YOU IN!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob stepped out onto the stage and froze. The once expansive and empty area was piled high with boxes. From behind one especially large pile he could clearly hear Alyx muttering to herself.

Bob turned to the audience. "Do I really want to know?" he asked them.

The silence from the filled theater was answer enough, they were as afraid as Bob was. Sighing heavily he girded himself and walked around the corner to find Alyx sitting at a table with an old fashioned calculator. She was busily punching numbers and throwing the calculate lever.

"What are you doing?" Bob asked in frustration.

Alyx looked up and glared at him. "I am trying to avert a crisis!" she snapped. "Slobnovia is in a financial mess! I've had to rededicate all my resources from funding my cold steam powered adult toys to refinancing an entire country! But I have a solution!" she cackled madly.

Bob noticed the wild look in her eyes and started to edge away in case he needed to run. "Do I want to know why Slobnovia is in financial hot water?"

Alyx looked up with tears in her eyes. "It's terrible, with Draco and Severus out on their world wide Who who hunt, no one is minding the store back at home. The dastardly Harry Potter has organized a general strike among the workers and is demanding free donuts and more breaks for sex! That pervert. But I have a solution to save the country," she announced proudly.

"And what would that be?"

"Merchandising!" Alyx exclaimed. "We're going to do a spin off on the popular 'where's Waldo' series, only it'll be 'Where's Who Who'."

Alyx held up a shirt with a picture of hundreds of people, including a tiny Who who wearing a sombrero.

Bob sighed and raised his eyes skyward, "Would it be too much to ask that for once we have a normal disclaimer where we tell the people that we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern?"

Alyx turned away. "Not impressed eh? How about this?" She reached into a box and pulled out a smaller box. "Sweet Who Whos, the breakfast cereal!" she proclaimed! "Little frosted crunchy Who whos in milk."

She paused and thought about that for a moment. "We may need to rework that idea some."

Bob sighed and walked away. "There's got to be a better way of doing disclaimers," he muttered. "Enjoy the chapter while I ponder that question folks."

* * *

**Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.**

**- Sir Issac Newton**

**Ministry of Magic, Office of the Deputy Minister and staff, October 15th...**

Albus looked up from the papers on his desk and frowned. His fellow undersecretary, Alejandro Croaker, was sitting at his desk scowling like a late August thundercloud.

"Alejandro, what has you so upset today?"

Sir William glanced up from his computer and looked over at the man.

"It's nothing I can put a solid finger on, Albus, but I am getting worried. Lately I've been hearing rumors and vague stories that suggest that some of our pure blood families might be contemplating some sort of action against the Ministry. You know how angry many of them were when the Wizengamot was dissolved."

Sir William frowned and leaned over his desk. "You think we have a problem?"

Croaked threw a pen angrily down on his desk. "That's just it, Sir William! I do, but I have no proof to back it up."

Albus sighed and shook his head.

Sir William looked down at his desk. One of the things he had learned was that his fellow co-workers relied more on 'gut instincts' than any other people he knew. It was something that seemed to be endemic to wizards. In the face of little or no evidence, they made assumptions that often turned out correct.

Sir William had learned that it would be folly to ignore any warnings from either of these two men. He looked up and turned to Croaker. "Inform our DMLE director of your suspicions, Alejandro. Let director Shacklebolt and Chief Inspector Stokes do their job and see if they can't dig up some proof. With even just a little solid evidence I can ask for additional MOD support."

Croaker nodded. "I'll speak to Shacklebolt straight away."

Sir William looked at Albus and smiled thinly. "All right, I know that when Alejandro has a problem, you usually have one as well. What do you have for me?"

Albus smiled and shook his head. "Not so much a problem, but you should be aware that our Weyr has hired on a large group of elves who were discharged from service. I don't know what the Weyr is using them for but I do know they already had five and were very happy with their help. Undoubtedly these new elves will be able to help them with their plans to expand to two new Weyrs this year."

Sir William nodded unhappily. A large number of old time families had discharged their elves when the Ministry had mandated that they had to be paid and it was illegal to abuse them. "Do we know how many elves were let go?"

Albus shook his head. "No, sir, but I suspect if we ask some of our Ministry elves, we may be able to locate more."

"Try to do that, Albus. Once we have an idea of how many we're dealing with, then we'll see what we can do to help them."

Albus nodded and turned back to his desk. He reached over to his computer and very carefully pressed the "on" button. The machine was turned on just twice a day to check email, usually from Remus or Harry and then he'd turn it off.

Sir William hid his smile as he watched Albus, who seemed more than a little awed by a not so special desktop computer. It was little different than any of the thousands of machines owned by the government, but the wizards seemed to think otherwise. He was almost tempted to ask Albus if he felt there was some sort of genie inside the box.

Shaking his head, he turned back to his machine and fired up his own email program. He wanted to make sure the Prime Minister know about Croaker's concerns, even if it was just a preliminary heads up.

**Campbeltown Weyr, October 20th...**

Harry appeared over the Weyr, tired and wanting nothing more than something to eat and about ten hours of sleep. He'd just come back from personally visiting Condron and Maziang. Ten of the Weyr's elves were now at Maziang, setting up the greenhouses and helping to make the rider's quarters more comfortable.

_Susan had been right,_ he thought to himself. _The quarters were little more than mud huts, but like Ronan pointed out, the people of Maziang thought they were great. It all boils down to what you're used to, I guess._

Maziang had been awkward for Harry. The installation of the modern muggle greenhouses had caught the people of the village by surprise and they were more than a bit shocked by the act of generosity.

Condron was an entirely different story. It was like the difference between night and day. The American federal government had thrown the full weight of its support into the project. As a result, buildings were going up in record time. The old airbase was being sectioned like Campbeltown, with a NASA run research facility at one end of the base. Facilities for classrooms were going up near the hangars and administration building.

Harry circled high above the Weyr on Cheki and looked down with an approving eye. They were still working on constructing the research center and power test station, but all in all, things were looking well for the Weyr and the dragons.

"_I know those thoughts, Harry. You're planning something,"_ Cheki said.

"I am," he replied with a smile. "Do you remember the headache we had with Ambassador Poulsen?"

Cheki rumbled with laughter. _"I remember he fainted when I met him."_

Harry laughed. The tall, well built blond had squeaked like a ten year old girl and fainted right there on the tarmac. "Yes, but asides from that, it took a lot of effort to get him to understand what we had to offer. If we have to do that with every Ambassador, it's going to take forever."

"_I can see that, but the idea of dragons who think is new to people. The wizards knew about thinking creatures, but the rest of the world did not."_

Harry nodded, then he absently summoned his notebook from the saddlebag. He opened the book and frowned, with the wind whipping around as they circled the Weyr there was no way he was going to be able to write anything down! He looked around in irritation.

Cheki rumbled heartily and Harry just knew his eyes were spinning with mirth. Sighing, he shoved the book back into his bag. As soon as he did, Cheki folded his wings and dove for the ground. Harry whooped with joy at the high speed dive.

The average non-bonded dragon was capable of sustaining a steady flight of two hundred miles per hour. But the bonded dragons were larger and faster in the air. Cheki was capable of nearly two hundred and sixty miles per hour sustained level flight and he could easily hit over four hundred in a dive. At Sir Robert's request, Harry and Cheki managed to maintain the high speed for a single hour before Cheki reported discomfort and getting tired.

Comaloth, also a Horntail, was able to do two hundred and forty miles an hour and even Chapman's Kirteth was capable of two hundred and ten miles an hour. In fact, it was the Vipertooths like Kirteth that alerted the Weyr to the fact that the riders had faster dragons.

Cheki's wings snapped open and he flared to a perfect touch down that left Harry's heart pounding in his chest.

"_Now you can write in your little book,"_ Cheki said, still rumbling with amusement.

Harry gently dropped to the ground and paused to lay his head against his dragon for a moment. "You're the best," he murmured.

The large dragon turned his head on his long neck and looked at his rider fondly.

After a moment, Harry stepped away. "I think I better go see Sir Robert about this, Cheki."

The large dragon nodded. _"I'll go see what's happening in the lounge,"_ he offered.

"You just want to go look at the female dragons," he said, grinning.

The lounge was a new addition to the Weyr and it sat between Hangar Six and Seven. When Narth and the other dragons were brought to the Weyr in the hollowed out mobile homes, the discarded trailers were parked between the two buildings. Then Dobby noticed them one day and he and the elves got together and pushed the trailers together, then knocked out the walls between them.

Remus added space enlarging charms and sealing spells to keep the buildings together. When it was complete, the dragons had a place they could lounge around in, much like their riders. Harry knew it wouldn't be unusual for Comaloth to be telling one of her stories in the lounge. A stereo had also been installed, but at the moment the dragons had to ask an elf to change the station for them.

It wasn't unusual to find several elves using the lounge area also and Harry had told Dobby that it was fine for them to bring in some furniture for the elves to sit on.

The magical riders affectionately dubbed the building, Hangar Six and three quarters.

Dragon memory, according to Sir Robert, wasn't quite eidetic, but it was mighty close. Comaloth seemed to have a knack for remembering what Hermione read and if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Comaloth revealed that the voices she used for the different parts came from Hermione.

To Harry's extreme embarrassment, he discovered one day while listening to Comaloth that often Hermione would use Harry's voice to the lead male part.

Harry took off at a distance eating jog, while Cheki went over to the lounge to see what was happening among the dragons.

Sir Robert looked up from the paper he was reading when he heard Harry cough from his doorway.

"Harry! Do come in, lad. What can I do for you?"

Harry entered and sat down. "I was thinking about the problem we had with Ambassador Poulsen and I realized that it was very likely we'd have to repeat that same encounter with dozens of other ambassadors as an opening move towards informing their government. Am I wrong?"

Sir Robert blinked and then he ruefully nodded. "I fear you are more right than you know. It's a difficult thing we're asking people to believe." He reached for his distance glasses and put them on, then he gave Harry a long look. "You look like you have an idea."

"I do, I'm just not sure how to go about it. If we wanted to bring a bunch of people here to introduce them to dragons, we know we just can't have a dragon pop up or they'll faint like Ambassador Poulsen did. Why can't we be more polished about it?" Harry asked.

"Polished?"

"Explaining to Ambassador Poulsen was a right mess. Even telling him before hand, he still fainted when he met Spath and Chekiath. Why not ease them into it? Make a video that explains dragons, and the Hot Rocks and how dragons are intelligent. We bring people here to let them watch the video, then we answer questions before introducing them to a dragon."

"Harry," Sir Robert said gently, "having a professionally made video would risk the secret getting out. A production like that would need to be planned and a professional company could have twenty or more people on the project."

Harry looked down and he sighed heavily. "I didn't know that. I guess it's a dumb idea after all," he muttered.

"No, the idea is a good one. The real question is, can we make it ourselves?"

Harry frowned as he looked up "I don't know," he replied. "I could ask the riders and see if anyone wants to tackle it, but wouldn't we need special cameras and such? "

"I don't think so, but we will need some other equipment. I'll ask around about video production if you are willing to see about getting someone to do the work."

Harry stood. "I'll go do that now. Maybe Lee would be interested. Thank you, Sir Robert."

"Lee? Lee Jordan? Why him?" asked Sir Robert.

"I was asking Lord Mills about the Prime Minister's Office of Public Relations. I was thinking we'd need someone like that and, well out of all of our riders, Lee is about the easiest person to talk to. I was considering asking if he'd like to handle that. It's no secret that his talents are more artistic and people oriented than, say, someone like Wayne or Millicent."

Sir Robert leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. Lee Jordan was a very popular person in the Weyr who was constantly thinking up minor pranks or stunts to make people laugh. He would make an excellent spokesman for the Weyr once they went public.

"I think Lee would be a good choice, but try to get one of the non-wizards involved as well," he offered.

Harry nodded. It made sense to involve someone that was as at least familiar with the technology.

"Thank you, Sir Robert," he repeated.

Harry waved and walked from the office feeling better about his idea. He had visions of trying to introduce dragons to twenty people at a time and watching them faint, or run screaming. He really, _really_ wanted to avoid that. It upset the dragons!

**Hangar Two, Campbeltown Weyr, November 3rd...**

Harry stood on the stage with one thumb hooked into his belt. He wore his flight suit, which was his preferred mode of dress these days. Lord Mills appeared in the large open area behind the desks and waved to him. He nodded in acknowledgment.

Luna and Emma sat behind a table piled high with shoe boxes containing the basic flight suit, jacket, goggles and handbook. The basic kit would be handed out to the candidates and a more advanced equipment pack would be given to the riders after they impressed.

"Nervous?" asked Ronan.

Harry's wing second sat on a stool nearby, watching Harry as he glanced at his watch and paced.

Harry glanced over to him. "A little, I guess, but not for the reasons you think. Draco's handling the Condron group, and Maziang doesn't need an orientation. Besides, Norendrath and Spath delivered the basic kits this morning. I guess I'm more nervous about what's happening that I don't see."

Ronan chuckled. "Relax. Draco will be fine. If he needs help, he'll have Sinnath call you. And I'm certain Lobsang has everything in hand at Maziang. I'll bet you ten pounds he gets picked as Weyrleader for Maziang."

Harry smiled. He truly liked Lobsang. His quiet strength would serve the Weyr well. The boy was humble and self effacing, much like Harry, but he was also strong when he needed to be.

"No bet," Harry replied with laugh. "My money was on Lobsang as soon as I met him."

A noise drew their attention. The motor coach had arrived and the candidates were slowly filing into the room. There were sixteen magical candidates and forty four mundane candidates. Harry spotted Lisa Turpin moving confidently to the front and he nodded to her.

He stepped up to the edge of the stage and smiled broadly. "There are drinks at the table in the back. Help yourselves. Once everyone is settled, we'll begin."

Everyone shuffled around and helped themselves to a drink, then found seats around the room.

"Before I begin, let me state that you are here with the permission of your parents, who have been informed of what's involved. What you are about to learn is covered under the Official Secrets Act and you may not speak to anyone about what you learn here. Does everyone understand that? And is everyone willing to abide by that rule?"

He paused and looked around, then he nodded in satisfaction. No one seemed to want to back out. He shot Doctor Sheppard a wry grin. The doctor had just arrived and stood holding a bottle of smelling salts in his hand.

"You people are here because you are special, even if you don't believe it. Each of you have been watched secretly in order to attempt to understand what type of person you are. You'll be happy to know that you've all passed that test. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be here." Harry held up a hand when he noted some scowls in his audience. "I know it sounds bad, but believe me, you've been given a great compliment. Let me explain _why_ we've done this.

"To put it simply, each one of you has a genetic predisposition that will afford you a unique opportunity."

When the scowls faded, he continued. "My name is Harry Potter and I'm the Weyrleader of Campbeltown Weyr. I welcome you to our Weyr and hope that in the coming days you will understand just what you've been offered."

"Now, let's start off with two basic facts that you need to believe. Luna, introduce yourself please," Harry said.

Luna smiled and stood up. "I'm Luna Lovegood, Trandieth's rider and I'm a witch." She waved her wand and a cloud formed over the heads of the candidates, then broke up into thousands of sparkling butterflies before fading away. She'd thought about using spiders, but really didn't want to incite panic among the potentials.

Harry held up his hand. "Fact number one, magic exists. It's not something you can learn. You either have the ability or you don't. We are telling you this because some of the people sitting at the desks next to you are magical. But magic is not why we here today. I tell you about it now because the person next to you may be magical and they do not need to hide their abilities from you. You'll learn more about magic as time goes on.

"We know that you are, for the most part, a person willing to accept the possibility of magic and fantasy creatures. A lot of you spend your time reading about elves and trolls and dragons. In fact, we know a number of you have even spent time writing about such creatures.

"Ronan, would you introduce yourself please?"

Ronan stood and smiled at the candidates. "I'm Ronan Clark, Wing Second and Garanoth's rider. Sorry, I can't make any butterflies, though if you give me a net, I may be able to catch a few for you."

The crowd laughed nervously.

Harry waited until they settled down. "Did anyone notice the common statement both Luna and Ronan made?" he asked.

"Something about a rider?" said a girl up front.

Several heads nodded in agreement.

"That's right," exclaimed Harry. "Both of them are riders. You see, humans are not alone on this planet. There are other intelligence species and recently, in fact, barely a year ago, another one of those intelligent species awoke from eons of silence."

"Oh, come on. You're making it sound like there are aliens among us," scoffed one boy. Several laughed nervously and one boy even did a fair imitation of the theme to Twilight Zone. Slowly the candidates realized that no one on the stage was laughing.

"Alien is an ugly word," Harry said softly. "I would prefer to say that they are just people who don't look like us."

"You're serious?" exclaimed a girl.

"Look around you," Ronan said quietly. "You're on an old military base after having been picked up by a luxury motor coach and driven here after signing nearly a dozen government secrecy documents. All around you are buildings and construction representing millions of pounds of investment. Would we go to all this trouble to pull some crazy joke on you?"

The girl blinked in shock and leaned back in her chair.

"Let's clear up a few things first," Harry said. "More than eleven thousand years ago, a race of beings came to this planet. They were here while our ancestors were still huddling in caves, afraid of the moon. You will recognize them instantly because they are found in our mythology all the way back to the dawn of civilization. In the coming days, you'll learn their full history, but for now I want to get to the reason why you are here."

Harry nodded to Remus, who created an illusion on the stage of a dragon.

The candidates took a gasping breath.

"Dragons!" exclaimed the girl who had questioned Ronan.

"Telepathic dragons," Ronan replied smugly.

The girl looked between Harry and Ronan, then her gaze settled on the illusion again. "Why telepathic?" she asked.

"_Because I can't make sounds like you do,"_ Chekiath replied to everyone.

The candidates looked around in alarm and Harry smirked, then pointed to the open area behind them.

They turned to see Chekiath, Garanoth and Trandieth watching them. Several candidates keeled over in a dead faint.

Harry did a quick count. "Six. Who had six?"

"Michelle, I think," Ronan replied. "She gets the pot."

"Damn, I thought there would be more," Harry said with a sigh.

Sirius had run around the previous night with a betting pool on how many would faint when they saw the dragons. Harry, to his regret, had bet fourteen.

Issac sighed and walked around waving his little bottle of smelling salts under noses. He gave Harry a sour look, but even he couldn't think of a better way of introducing dragons to people.

Harry twirled his wand causing a whistle and the candidates reluctantly turned back to him. "In a little bit you'll be able to meet with the dragons and speak to them first hand. But for now, please bear with us. The quicker we can finish, the quicker you can meet the dragons and talk to them."

Ronan stepped up to the edge of the stage and looked around. He was older than Harry by more than a year and he looked older, despite Harry's tendency to have a heavy five o'clock shadow. "I'm a dragon rider," he said with a quiet dignity. "I am bonded to a dragon in such a way that my dragon is the most important person in my life. Once, before I impressed Garanoth, I seriously considered taking up Aeronautical Engineering. Now, I am now part of something that has never been done before, and while I will go to school for engineering, I'll use that training for my dragon and my Weyr."

Harry walked over and clapped a hand on Ronan's shoulder. The pair exchanged a look then Harry turned to the candidates.

"This is what you're being offered. To be part of something unique in all of human experience. In return, the Weyr will shelter and support you. Scholarships will be available to every rider."

The girl who had been questioning Ronan looked puzzled. "Who's in charge of this? Is this a government project?"

"Lord Mills, if you would?"

James nodded and walked up to the front of the room, then he turned and faced the candidates. "This is not precisely a government project, although the government is heavily involved. The land you stand on is semi-autonomous from Scotland. Officially, I am here to act as an official liaison between the government and the Weyr, but Harry is Weyrleader."

"Him?" exclaimed the girl. "Why him?"

"_Harry is The Weyrleader,"_ Chekiath said, breaking into the conversation again. _"He freed us from the time of the beasts and protected us. He has fought and killed to protect dragons and every dragon in the world recognizes him as The Weyrleader. Unlike the other riders, Harry can speak to all dragons and he is my rider."_

Harry looked embarrassed by Cheki's pronouncement. "Through accident or fate, I have been placed into the role of Weyrleader. It was not my choice to be what I am, but sometimes life doesn't give us choices, only needs that must be met.

"As a rider, you will have a lot of responsibility to care for your dragon. It is a true partnership. While you tend to the needs of your dragon, your dragon tends to your needs, as well. In this life, you will never find a bond like the one you'll have with your dragon."

He paused and took a deep breath. "Ronan is responsible for his dragon. As a Wing Second, he is also responsible for ensuring that his wing is operating normally. I am responsible for all dragons worldwide and their riders."

The girl looked up at Harry for a moment longer, then she sat back down.

Harry was definitely sending mixed signals to the candidates. He was shorter than most boys his age, but his five o'clock shadow and broad shoulders made him seem older, as did an air of confidence that was unusual for his age.

Harry watched the girl for a moment longer, then he looked up at the candidates. "In two days time we will be flying, via dragon, to the hatching Weyr in Greenland. There you will be given an opportunity to come to know the dragons better and you'll learn more about them. Until then, there will be some simple classes to get you used to flying on dragon back and you'll always have a chance to speak with the dragons anytime you wish.

"We'll break for lunch shortly. After you've eaten, you'll be directed to the candidate dormitories. Mrs Emma Granger - stand up Emma," he said with a smile. "Emma is the chaperone for the girl's dorm. Her husband, Dan, is the Weyr dentist and the chaperone for the boy's dorm. They will be be available both here and at the Hatching Weyr, but there you will also find other chaperones who we'll introduce when we get there."

Emma stood and waved.

"You'll note Emma's been hiding behind a pile of boxes, along with Luna. I'd like you each to come up now and get a box from Emma, then sign the sheet Luna has, acknowledging you got the kit. Inside the box you'll find a thermal flight suit, jacket, gloves, goggles and a handbook. I want everyone to study that book. Read it, then reread it. And once you feel that you couldn't possibly learn any more from it, read it again. You'll need to know that information like you know the back of your hand."

Harry nodded to Emma.

She motioned to the candidates sitting close to the stage. "Come on up and get your kits," she called with a bright smile.

Harry walked over to Ronan. "First contact," he muttered

Ronan looked at him with interest. "Eh? What?"

Harry grimaced. "Introducing people to dragons is bad enough, but introducing potential candidates is even harder. I mean I can't say, 'This dragon wants to be your lifelong companion and will be closer to you than anyone you choose for a spouse.' Any person with a lick of sense will figure it out and start running."

Ronan laughed. "No they won't, Harry. Look at them. Every one of them has dreamed of magic and dragons. I was the same way, but I was also into science fiction, which I thought was more likely to happen. I will tell you this much. By dinner, every one of these candidates will know what's coming and I'll bet not one will ask to go home. I knew very shortly after you introduced the dragons and I couldn't wait to meet the dragon who would be mine."

"_I knew you were coming for me, Ronan,"_ Garanoth said. _"I glad you decided to risk it."_

Ronan's blushed and his ears turned bright red. Harry laughed and clapped him on his shoulder.

"Well, let's get this parade moving. We still have a lot of ground to cover today."

Ronan nodded and they both turned back to the candidates who were getting their basic kits. Harry noted with approval that Luna was questioning each magical candidate about their wands. They would all be issued temporary wands for now. Those with heartstring cores would be asked to put their old wands away. All of the magical riders would be taught to craft a wand using a scale from their own dragon.

**The Leaky Cauldron, November 4th...**

"I'm telling you this isn't right!" exclaimed one patron. "So these muggles think they can order us around? Since when?"

"Since a whole lot of people got themselves killed thinking they could attack the goblins. I was 'ere when the goblins came outa their building, along with over ten thousand muggles all armed with their guns! Can you fight goblins and muggles? Not me, I say," declared Tom, the inn keeper. "If yer smart you'll keep yer head down and follow their rules. They aren't demanding anything outrageous."

"Bah! Yer daft, Tom," declared Tobias. "Soon the muggles will be insisting you use their toys and trinkets and throw away your wand!"

Several of the patrons exclaimed in dismay and Tom's expression darkened.

"'Ere now! The muggles aren't looking for any such thing!" retorted Tom. "I hear tell they built us a school in Hogsmeade that'll be free to all children. Sure, they'll teach them muggle things, but I 'erd they are working with McGonagall and Dumbledore hisself to include magic in what they teach."

Tobias Bunniford glared at the inn keeper. "You mark my words, Tom, there'll come a day when they will take away your business and make you go beg for your meals!"

"Bah! Get on with ya, Bunniford. Ya bin sniffing too much of your chocolate, if you ask me!" exclaimed Tom.

"Too much of your Fire Whiskey, Tom!" shouted another patron and everyone laughed.

Bunniford, owner of Bunniford confections and the proud manufacturer of Chocolate Frogs, growled and stomped from the room to the general laughter of the other patrons.

In one darkened corner of the building, a young man watched the entire scene with intense interest. He smiled thinly and leaned a little forward in his chair to reach for his drink. The lamplight glinted off his red hair, but no one paid him any attention. He was just another patron in for a wee bit before heading home for the night.

**Chinese Embassy, London, November 5th...**

Wei Fong looked up from the papers, then he glanced down at them again. He had been warned about this particular arrival, but it still bothered him. He was chief of station and unused to the people back in Beijing ordering operations without consulting him.

"Comrade Colonel," he said slowly, "I understand your area of interest lies somewhere on the Scottish coast. My department is ready to assist you in any way we can."

Colonel Jin Tan Mu nodded, expecting no less from the Comrade Captain who ran the station. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "My team will be arriving in the next week. As you are aware, we have sent a large number people to England in the last month. Most of them are decoys who will be touring the country and examining facilities that should distract the Imperial secret police. Meanwhile, my real teams will be looking closely to find out what happened to Agent K.

"The Ministry of State Security feel that the extra hands will confuse the imperialists, while we try to locate the facility which caused the capture of our agent."

"Haven't we been able to ascertain where he was exposed yet?"

The Colonel shook his head. "It is our fear that elements within British society may have resorted to unclean methods to remove the memories of our man. The few conversations we've been able to have with him reveal he has no memory of being caught out. All he knows is he was recalled to America, arrested upon his arrival and charged with espionage."

Wei Fong's eyes widened and he swallowed nervously. The communist government of China was aware of the magical world. It was a closely guarded secret that, back in the fifties, the wizards of China found themselves backed against a wall as the communists rounded them up and killed them. A small group took over a full division of tanks and forced the commanders to destroy another nearby People's Army division. Then Comrade Mao was visited by some Chinese Wizards, who told him to stop or they would set the PRA to fighting itself.

The Wizards of China were isolationists to an extreme. They wanted nothing more than to be left alone, although now they closely watched the government and a few times had stepped in to remind them that they had the power to hurt the government badly. Likewise, the muggles had the ability to hurt them badly and the man sitting across from Wei Fong was one of those who had hurt the Chinese Wizards very badly. He was one of few muggles they feared.

An irrational paranoia was instilled in the communist government and along with that paranoia came a bit of fear. They learned to deal with the wizards harshly and without mercy when they were found. They also learned to be extra sensitive to magical happenings. If it couldn't be explained rationally, they had no problem attributing the incident to magic.

Among the in-the-know elite, the term "unclean" was used to refer to any magical interference. Meanwhile, the Chinese wizards buried themselves very deep inside Chinese society. There are been several clashes of violence on both sides. It was rumored that the man who stood before him was responsible for killing over four thousand Chinese wizards by ordering a suspected enclave firebombed with napalm.

The man was considered highly dangerous, even by his own superiors. And now he stood before Wei Fong and outranked him. Wei Fong was on very thin ground here. The Colonel was obviously sent by the Ministry of State Security because he had experience in dealing with unclean elements.

"I hope you won't think it presumptuous of me, Comrade Colonel, but I have taken the liberty of preparing some material that might help you," Wei Fong offered. He hadn't had much warning about his arrival, but in the two days that he did have, he had compiled a long list of possible sites of interest.

Colonel Jin Tan Mu arched a single eyebrow at the comrade captain's audacity, then he nodded slightly.

Wei Fong pressed a button on his desk and a young woman entered carrying a rolled up poster and a thick sheath of papers. He took the papers from the woman, who then turned and left the room as quick as she could.

Wei Fong unrolled a large map and hung it from his wall. "The background briefing said our agent had been originally tasked to visit a facility on the coast. This map marks all the military and military/industrial complexes within fifteen miles of the coast. As you can see, they are color coded based on the activity at the site," he said, then he handed over the stack of papers. "Each item is described in the paperwork."

Wei Fong turned back to the colonel. "I'm sorry that it probably isn't complete. For all we know, our agent might have been to a facility we don't know about."

The colonel snuffed out his cigarette and he looked over the papers, then the map. It would save him a lot of time and effort, but it wouldn't do to appear too impressed.

"This is adequate," he said slowly. "I have been told your station was efficient and I can see this is mostly true."

Wei Fong nodded and swallowed nervously again. "Will there be anything else, Comrade Colonel?"

The Colonel smiled thinly. "I take it the girl that brought the map has been properly trained?"

Wei Fong nodded, knowing what the colonel was asking. Many of the female staff had been trained as office personnel and as entertainment for the senior male staff. "She is more than diligent in her job, comrade."

"Excellent. You know where I'm staying. Send her to my suite tonight after twenty hundred hours."

Wei Fong nodded. "I will do that, comrade."

The Colonel placed the stack of papers in his briefcase, then waited calmly while Wei Fong rolled up the map and placed it into a plastic container before handing it to him.

He left the office without a single glance back and Wei Fong shivered slightly. He had met dangerous people before, but the Comrade Colonel represented a whole new level of danger.

**Office of the Director, MLE, Ministry of Magic, November 5th...**

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up from the large desk as the door opened and his guest entered. He was uncomfortable in the position, but he was one of the few senior aurors who had returned to work for the Ministry after the muggles had taken over.

Normally he shared the office with a senior inspector from CID, but the man had gone home a little early today.

He looked at the man sitting across the desk from him with a critical eye. His face was hidden by a charm, but he knew who the man was.

"I received your message and I have to admit I was very surprised by it," Kingsley said.

"I know I haven't done much to earn your trust, but I am grateful you're willing to listen to me," replied the cloaked figure.

Kingsley shrugged. "I'm listening," he said neutrally.

"You're aware that there are elements in our population that are... unhappy with events?"

Kingsley nodded.

"I found myself in an interesting position the other day as I was approached by someone who seems to be gathering supporters for an anti-ministry group," the man said softly.

Kingsley arched an eyebrow. He had heard rumors, but he wasn't aware that it had gotten that far.

"Why bring this to me? Your own boss is placed higher up in the Ministry than I am. He could bring it to... the others easier than I could."

The man nodded. "He could, but it's not his job. This is an DMLE matter. I understand you have to bring this information to the powers that be and you'll have to reveal who I am."

Kingsley started and he could make out the smile on the man. "I am thought to be a fool Kingsley and I do have some things to atone for, but I'm not stupid. I figure you knew who sent that message within an hour of getting it."

Kingsley nodded but he had no intention of telling the man it took four hours to lift the signature and find a match for it.

"So what do you want then?" asked Kingsley.

"I want your support. Right now this group seems pretty tame, but I'm sure You-Know-Who seemed really tame at one time too. I'll pass along what information I can. In return, your department helps if I need something. Or if I need protection," replied the man.

"And of course you'll want a guarantee of not being charged," Kingsley said sardonically.

The man nodded. "I am here to help you. It stands to reason that if I'm helping you, I would not be prosecuted."

Kingsley nodded. No law enforcement office would prosecute an informant unless absolutely necessary. "Very well, I will make arrangements for you to receive a portkey you can wear that will take you to a safe house with a healer nearby. I'll also arrange for an owl drop for your messages. For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing and when this is over I'll be glad to bring you into the department openly or endorse you to the other departments."

The man blinked in surprise, then he bowed his head in thanks. "I will be in touch," he replied, then he stood and slipped from the room.

Kingsley blew out an explosive breath, then he turned and wrote up a quick message on parchment and sent it off to Croaker, asking for a meeting. He needed to let Croaker know what was happening.

**Hatching Weyr, Disko Island, November 5th...**

The bonded riders of Campbeltown Weyr, plus sixty extra dragons, appeared over Disko to the tumultuous sound of one hundred and twenty dragons trumpeting in welcome. Harry glanced over towards Ronan, who grinned and waved.

All of the dragons were terribly excited. These were the first of the candidates to arrive at the Hatching weyr and the egg mothers below couldn't contain themselves.

"_Cheki, let's land our candidates, then tell Nokrenth and Ralaninth to bring theirs,"_ he sent silently. He could have easily told the other dragons, but with Chekiath taking a more assertive role, he decided to let Chekiath give the order to bring the candidates to the Weyr.

"_Yes, Harry,"_ Chekiath replied, then he banked around, coming out of formation while the others spiraled in for a landing. Cheki knew Harry wanted to remain airborne until the other Weyrs arrived and landed. _"The egg mothers are very excited."_

Harry grinned. "Yeah, but between you and me, I'm excited too, mate. Soon we'll have three Weyrs."

"_The other candidates are arriving now,_" Cheki announced. A moment later the dragons below trumpeted their welcome again. Eighty eight more dragons appeared in the skies around him. He grinned and waved to Lobsang, who sat astride Nokrenth with Master Jangbu. The Maziang contingent of riders had been a subject of controversy until Harry stepped in and explained the issue to Lobsang and Master Jangbu. At first it had been all male, then Harry had to explain that they needed to have a mix of genders.

It had taken a full day of arduous explaining, and finally Nokrenth told the old Dragon Handler that he couldn't allow an all male group and they would have to accept at least half female candidates. Jangbu sighed and threw up his hands and agreed. It was counter to their culture to allow women equal roles, but they accepted the directive of the Weyrleader.

Harry had returned to the Weyr that day with a pounding headache. Garanoth and Ronan, who had accompanied them, explained to the riders exactly what Harry had been doing all day away from the Weyr. While he explained, Harry crawled into bed and hoped his headache would be gone the next morning. When morning rolled around, he found himself being thanked by every female rider in the Weyr for standing up for their rights.

He didn't have the heart to tell them he wasn't standing up for equal rights as much as he would have hated seeing what would happen at Maziang when their dragons rose.

Harry waited for all of the candidates to land and dismount before he landed Chekiath. The adults and riders were directing everyone towards the Hatching Chamber. It was really the only place big enough to sit everyone. The escape chamber used by the goblins wasn't set up with seating so it couldn't be used, even if it was much larger than the hatching chamber.

Harry stood by the chamber entrance and waited as people climbed into the stands normally used for guests and spectators.

"There's so many of them," Hermione said, moving to stand next to him.

"Our next generation. We'll be doing it like this for at least another twenty years," he replied.

She cocked her head to look at him. "What do you mean?"

He smiled at her. "Are you planning on having a child every year?"

"No!" she exclaimed, horrified at the thought.

He laughed. "I daresay most of the girls would agree with you. And I know I do. But that means it'll be at least sixteen years before we manage to start providing Weyr bred candidates and probably closer to twenty or more before we're supplying most of the candidates. We'll still have to search out candidates among the population, but it'll be twenty years before the bulk of them come from the Weyr."

Hermione blinked, then she looked over at the crowd settling into place. With the riders and the adults, there were nearly two hundred people in the stands.

"I hadn't thought of that," she murmured. It shocked her that Harry was thinking so far in advance, but she also realized with the Ministry now under Crown control, he would be able to consider more far reaching issues.

He chuckled again. "Come on. Let's go welcome everyone to Disko."

Hermione nodded and walked over to the stands, while Harry carefully walked to a central point near the stands. Behind him, the Egg Mothers filed in and went directly to their eggs.

Without thinking, Harry cast a wandless amplification on his voice. He turned to watch the dragons still filing into the chamber, then turned back to the humans, who watched him expectantly.

"Welcome to Disko Island, the hatching weyr for the dragons of Earth," he said softly, then he waited for a moment, watching the Maziang contingent. When Lobsang nodded he continued. "Our group of candidates from Maziang in Tibet are not fluent in English. If you'd like to talk to them, do so around a dragon and the dragon will translate for you."

Harry turned to the group from Tibet. "Likewise, speak to someone around a dragon and let them translate."

When everyone nodded, he grinned at them. "This Weyr is the oldest known weyr in the world. We think this is the place where Sidraneth laid her clutch of eggs, close to one hundred of them. As a weyr, this place had been abandoned and reclaimed many times over the ages. And now it will be the place where your dragons will be hatched."

Harry glanced over his shoulder and noted all of the Egg Mothers were present, then he turned back to the crowd. "Tomorrow we will have a session in here where you will meet with the Egg Mothers. Talk with them, get to know them and where they come from. Only twenty five eggs come from America, Scotland or Tibet. The rest come from all over the world. In this way, each weyr is contributing to the effort."

He paused again and waited while the candidates looked around eagerly.

"If an Egg Mother invites you to help her, she will allow you to handle the egg, which we hope will initiate the bonding process early. There are one hundred and forty candidates and one hundred and twenty six eggs. If you are not chosen to be help an Egg Mother this time, you will be brought back for the next impression sometime in mid February. We will continue to present you as a candidate for as long as you are eligible."

Again he waited while the dragons translated. "I am the Weyrleader. My name is Harry Potter and I am also a wizard. I am the Weyrleader because I can speak to any dragon on the planet and they will follow my directions." he said, introducing himself. "All of the candidates from Tibet are magical, like myself. Some of the candidates from Britain are magical and roughly a third of the American candidates are magical.

"Magic is nice and you are encouraged to help your Weyrmates out by using your magic, but magic in itself does not make you special. Here, you will all learn to be Riders. If you impress, no matter what country you come from, magical or non-magical, you will be, first and foremost, a dragon riders. Your first loyalty will always be to your dragon, your second loyalty will be to your Weyr, your fellow riders and to dragons everywhere. After that, you will be wizards or non-magical, American, British or Tibetan."

He paused to let the information sink in, then asked all of the chaperones to stand so that everyone could get a good look at them.

"We do not have a formal bedding arrangement like in our first impression. The tents with a blue entrances are for boys, the pink entrances are for the girls. I'll let you go now to get settled. Riders, you'll use your old quarters until after the impression."

Harry stepped back and the people in the stands stood and started heading for the exit with the chaperones urging them towards the tents. He wasn't surprised to see each group was clustering around the adults they knew from their home Weyr.

"_It is a powerful group, Weyrleader."_

Harry turned and saw Momnarth standing nearby. She stood protectively over a small nest containing two eggs. Several other dragons had an extra egg which accounted for the six eggs over the expected count.

"It is, Momnarth. I look at them and can see we've got a good group," Harry replied. He glanced around at all of the Egg Mothers, who were busy tending their precious eggs. "How are the Egg Mothers?"

"_Excited and nervous. They are reaching out and testing the candidates, trying to see who would be acceptable to them."_

Harry nodded. Spath had told him the Egg Mothers would know who would be best for their egg. He couldn't explain the mechanics involved, but Harry was confident that they would find someone acceptable to them.

"I best see to our candidates, Momnarth. I'll see you tomorrow," Harry said with a nod of his head, then he turned and walked from the chamber.

"_I hope I can find one as strong as The Weyrleader,"_ murmured a Norwegian Ridgeback wistfully.

Momnarth turned towards the dragon from a Weyr in South Africa. _"We got very lucky the day he impressed. It was an accident that shook the world and I doubt we'll find another as strong as The Weyrleader. The candidates are strong enough and will be good riders, that is all that matters. Our offspring will continue, protected and nurtured by their rider."_

"_Truly he is another like Sean Connell,"_ another said softly, referring to the first Weyrleader on Pern. All of the Egg Mother's murmured their agreement and hoped to pick someone as strong for their offspring.

**HMP Erlestoke, November 10th...**

The prisoner transfer van was delayed before setting out to deliver their passenger. A last minute change in orders resulted in two members of CID Magical division re-searching the prisoner before handing him over to the transport unit.

His file had been 'sanitized' so that his crimes now appeared as mundane crimes and any possible magical items, including the collection of magical newspapers, had been confiscated. His sole magical object remaining to him was a magical inhibiting bracelet that was locked around his wrist and was disguised as a medical alert bracelet. It looked like a standard issue prison bracelet that was handed out to any inmate who had a chronic medical problem.

The van pulled into the portcullis of the prison and they waited for the outer doors to close before the transport crew exited. Two prison guards stepped out from a side door and a third accepted the paperwork. He glanced through it and nodded. Everything was in order.

"Snape, Severus, no middle name. Bastard must have been hated by his parents to get saddled with that name," muttered the supervisor. He grunted seeing the convictions. Four consecutive terms of 10 years minimum for rape of underage girls and one twenty five year term for involvement in an action that resulted in near fatal police injuries. The only out of the ordinary thing in the whole file was a note from a senior judge instructing the prison staff to never remove the prisoner's bracelet.

The supervisor closed the file and walked over to where the two guards were standing with Snape between them. He was shackled and his hands cuffed and locked to his belt. The supervisor twisted Snape's wrist to see the bracelet. He then looked into Snape's eyes with a smirk. It looked like a regular medic alert bracelet, not that they paid much attention to those things.

Snape tried to glare back at the muggle, but there was little he could do. When he had been presented before a muggle court he was offered reduced sentences if he would take a magical vow to never tell another soul about magic in any way. Not knowing how the muggle justice system worked, he agreed and took the vow, never knowing the muggles could sentence prisoners to consecutive sentences.

Snape lowered his eyes, knowing before he even tried to test his will against the supervisor that he was defeated. It had been explained to him that, at a minimum, it would be sixty five years before he saw daylight as a free man.

"Where do you want him, boss?" asked one of the guards.

The supervisor smiled. "Is there still room in Otto's cell?"

The guards laughed and nodded. Otto Monsooni was an emigrant to Britain who been convicted of killing a man suspected of murdering his nine year old daughter. He was a model prisoner as long as he didn't come into contact with anyone convicted of child molesting.

"Let's try him there for a few days before we find him something more suitable," the supervisor suggested.

"Aye, in the infirmary after Otto's done wit 'im," muttered one guard to the laughter of the others.

Snape was pulled into the building proper, broken and defeated, and absolutely certain that Potter was somehow responsible for his plight.

**Administration Tent, Disko Island Weyr, November 15th...**

Harry glanced down at his notes for the day's meeting, then he looked up and smiled. "Hagrid tells me that all of the Egg Mothers are doing well. Dan's had to fix a few teeth, but there was less pressure on the mothers with the candidates helping out."

Present at the meeting were Lord Mills, Hagrid, Dan and Emma Granger and the Wing Leaders, Jasper Brady and his wife Mary and Master Jangbu. Jasper Brady, at Harry's urgings, had slotted himself into the Weyr Liaison position as Lord Mills had done. Brady's wife had opted to find space for herself as a chaperone and magic tutor for the American group.

The Maziang contingent had brought no real chaperones. Culturally, it wasn't something they needed to worry about. They had, however, brought their best healer and an animal specialist, who doubled up in those roles for their candidates.

"Fortunately, I had the materials on hand," Dan murmured. "We only really had one bad case and she was much relieved when that American girl started helping with her egg."

Harry smiled gratefully at Dan, then he turned to Jasper. "How many people are standing by at Condron for the hatching?"

"Forty two in total, mostly parents, but I expect that some of them will opt to stay behind when they're faced with climbing onto dragon back. I will confess, I was more than a little apprehensive the first time I rode on a dragon. Were it not for the wards, I think I would have tried to get an international portkey made for Disko," Jasper replied. "Lord Mills, Dan Granger and myself are coordinating to record the hatching. I also have several omniculars for our use."

"Apprehensive, he says," muttered Mary Brady. "I nearly peed my pants I was so scared the first time I climbed on a dragon's back."

Jasper shot his wife an amused look. She was totally unlike Jasper in mannerism. She was very people oriented and very frank with her comments, whereas Jasper had the polish of his more than ten years in politics and government helping him.

Master Jangbu turned his white eyes towards Mary and cackled with laughter.

Harry grinned and shrugged apologetically to Mary. "I'm sorry if we didn't..."

"No, Weyrleader, it wasn't your fault," Mary said, interrupting him. "I grew up listening to the tales of how dangerous a dragon can be. I never dreamt that someday someone would ask me to sit on the shoulders of one while we teleported four thousand miles to Greenland."

"A dragon can be dangerous, Mary, but they really aren't the monsters we were led to believe," James Mills said softly.

Master Jangbu said something in his language and everyone paused, waiting for the translation.

"_Master Jangbu says it is not that dragons are dangerous. All life can be dangerous. The real crime is being taught to fear something,"_ Nokrenth said solemnly.

Harry nodded. "Wise words," he murmured, then he turned to Hagrid. "Any idea when we'll see a hatching?"

Hagrid stroked his bead for a moment, "Hatchin' isn' a precise thin', yeh understand. The eggs appear to have fully hardened. Up until the last day or two before the hatchin', the eggs are more leathery than hard like a hen's egg, then in the last two days they firm up an' become brittle. They only began hardenin' last night."

Harry glanced up at a wall calendar. "Sometime tomorrow then," he said softly. "We really don't have the room to bring in the guests early. I guess we'll have to go with our original plan and bring them in when the dragons signal it's begun."

He glanced down at his notes and smiled to himself. "Master Jangbu, you'll be pleased to know that the elves have completed their work at Maziang. The greenhouses are up and your people are planting using the seed stock we provided. Also, the rider housing has been improved upon a bit."

The elves enlarged the housing and replaced the cloth wall they had put up with a swinging wooden door for the dragons to use. Wooden planking was also installed as flooring instead of the dirt floors that were there originally. The wizards of the village knew that the areas inside the houses would need space enlarging charms and Harry had made certain they knew of spells capable of doing just that, otherwise he would have had to arrange for them to be taught the necessary spells.

They had installed three greenhouses at Maziang. Two were for potion stock, while the third was given to the village for their own use. That gesture, more than any other, surprised the people of the village. Now they would be able to grow food year round. When Lobsang asked about it, Harry told him that taking care of dragons was only half of the problem. The riders and their families also needed to be taken care of.

Harry didn't want to embarrass Lobsang or the people of Maziang but he, and so many of the riders, had been upset by the level of poverty the people of Maziang endured while caring for the dragons. May and Luna both pitched the idea of supplying an extra greenhouse and Harry readily agreed to it.

Harry looked up and realized he had missed Master Jangbu replying, so he waited for Nokrenth's translation.

"_You honor us, Weyrleader. Master Jangbu prays they may be worthy of your support."_

"Nokrenth, please tell Master Jangbu I have every confidence in his people and the dragons of Maziang," Harry said softly.

Master Jangbu nodded and gave Harry a huge smile.

"Well, since we're here with Nokrenth and Ralaninth listening in, I'm curious if either of the dragon elders have any ideas about who they might choose as Weyrleader?" Harry asked.

Everyone perked up and looked at Harry with interest.

"_I sense that you would prefer Lowly Apprentice,"_ Nokrenth said cautiously in reply.

Harry blinked and smiled. "Nokrenth, it is true that I favor Lobsang for the position, but please do not let that influence you. For all intents and purposes, you elder dragons will be selecting the person who will speak with my voice. He, or she, must be strong and dedicated not only to his dragon, but also to his Weyr. It is not an easy thing to be Weyrleader."

"_He is strong, Weyrleader, and he shares the same love for dragons that you feel. There are few others in our group that might be suitable, but I will continue watching,"_ Nokrenth said after a minutes silence.

Harry smiled softly. "It is your decision, my friend, and I will accept the person you choose."

He paused and waited for the conversation to be translated. When Master Jangbu nodded, he turned to the Americans. "Ralaninth, do you have any ideas?" he asked.

"_I am considering two right now, Weyrleader. Barrel Chest has a strong character and he is already respected among the candidates. He is level headed, but also a bit impetuous. On the other hand, Squeaker also has a strong character and she thinks deep thoughts."_

Harry blinked and looked towards Jasper Brady for some explanation.

Jasper chuckled and he pulled out a pad with a list. "I thought it would come in handy to build a list of people and their dragon appellations. Barrel Chest is Frank Taylor. His friends call him Skip, apparently because in one of his high school football games he injured his leg and skipped the last twenty yards for a touch down. He's popular with all of the candidates and very easy going. In the few days I've been able to watch them, I noted that he is constantly helping people or trying to build a sense of community among the riders."

Lord Mills smiled and leaned forward in his chair. "And Squeaker?" he asked.

Mary Brady laughed. "Kat Matthews is a witch who, on meeting her very first dragon, made a sound like a door creaking open and then she fainted. In her defense, I'll say the dragon was disillusioned and practically breathing down her neck when it popped into view. She turned around and was eyeball to eyeball with Ralaninth."

Harry chuckled. "And the deep thoughts part?"

"Kat is a very intelligent girl, Harry," Jasper replied seriously. "She's friendly and helpful, but her intelligence is on par with any genius scale you want to use. She's as popular as Skip is, but more reserved and more likely to think before jumping to action."

"_Weyrleader?"_

Harry looked up. "Yes, Ralaninth?"

"_Can it be possible for a Weyr to have two leaders?"_ asked the dragon.

Harry's shocked expression was echoed among the others sitting in the room.

After a moment of silence, Jasper spoke again. "It would allow for continuity of leadership should one person get injured or worse. That's one of the things I noted about Campbeltown. There's no chain to follow should anything happen to you, Harry."

"I've never considered the possibility, but I don't see why we couldn't go for a co-leadership arrangement. Or perhaps an assistant position? Ralaninth, can I ask why you are thinking this way?" Harry asked.

"_Squeaker thinks hard about things before doing. Barrel Chest sometimes jumps without looking first. Combined, they would make a powerful pair. You know when action is needed, the rest of the time you consider every move you make, Weyrleader. Together they would be almost as good as if you led us,"_ replied the dragon.

Harry blushed and Hagrid chuckled at his discomfort. He glanced over at his friend and smiled weakly before turning back to the others. "All right, let's consider it. If we went with Skip and Kat as co-Weyrleaders, would that appear as if we were pushing them together?"

"Like as a couple?" exclaimed Mary in surprise.

Harry nodded.

"I hadn't considered that," Jasper said. "But then that's something you British still do with marriage contracts and the like. There hasn't been a contract for marriage in a hundred years in the US. So I don't think anyone is going to think that way, Harry."

Harry looked relieved, then he turned facing one wall. Everyone knew he was speaking to a dragon then. "Ralaninth, like I told Nokrenth, I will support who you pick, even if it means supporting two people."

"_Thank you, Weyrleader,"_ replied the dragon.

Harry looked back to the others. "Does anyone have anything else?"

When no one spoke his closed his notebook and they all stood and filed from the room.

**Disko Island Hatching Weyr, November 16th...**

Harry sipped a cup of hot tea as he walked around. He had been certain that today would be the hatching, but the day proceeded quietly. Now it was late, nearly eleven in the evening and he had decided to take one last look at the hatching chamber.

He stepped around an egg and the Egg Mother opened her eyes to look at him. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I was just checking to see how things were going."

The dragon looked at Harry, her eyes twirling with streaks of green. She slowly stood and shook herself, then she glanced down at her egg and nudged it with her snout. She took a step back and looked at Harry. _"It is time,"_ she replied, then she started to croon softly.

Harry stared at her for a moment in shock, then he noted the other mothers were waking and starting to croon. He chuckled and shook his head, then he pulled out his wand and twirled it while casting his spell.

A bell started ringing across the bowl and the dragons woke instantly, bellowing their own calls, waking a Weyr that had just settled down for the night.

Harry walked over to the entrance to stop the candidates as they entered the chamber. _"Cheki, alert the Weyrs to start bringing their guests. Tell them not to waste any time,"_ he sent silently.

"_Yes, Harry,"_ replied Chekiath.

Many of the riders stumbled past the candidates, aiming for the stands. Last time they had been on the hatching sands, this time they would be spectators.

Overhead in the bowl, dragons started popping into position, carrying excited parents and dignitaries from Britain and America to witness the third impression. Chekiath reared up on his hind legs and bellowed for order, then he started directing the dragons down one at a time to unload their passengers.

Harry stood in front of the growing crowd of candidates who were all whispering and murmuring to each other. A few showed signs that they had already gone off to bed and hurriedly discarded their night clothes for something more suitable. The excitement among them was at a fever pitch. For the past two weeks they had been working towards this day.

Harry glanced down at his watch, then over towards the mothers who had all moved to one side of the chamber, out of the way. The dragons were starting to line the upper rim of the stands and they were joining in the chorus, crooning to the eggs. Harry grinned at the sight and sound, the noise made by the dragons was literally causing the sands on the hatching floor to vibrate.

He glanced at his watch again. It had been less than fifteen minutes since he had sounded the alarm and the stands were nearly filled. People had been anxiously waiting all day for the dragons to bring them here. He held up a hand and the candidates and guests fell silent. The dragons continued to croon to the eggs, forcing Harry to cast a quick sonorus on himself.

"You've trained for this moment," he said to the candidates. "Even those of you who weren't chosen by an egg mother have trained for this. Spread out and watch the entire floor, not just the egg you had been caring for. We don't know for certain that the egg you cared for will hatch your dragon, so be aware of the other hatchlings and what they are doing. If a dragon comes to you and impresses, move over to Hagrid. He'll be sending you out for first feeding. Remember, a newly hatched dragon is a danger to you and itself. If the hatchling is moving to someone behind you, get out of the way."

Harry waited while the Maziang group listened to a dragon translate, then they nodded at him. He grinned and motioned them forward. As he backed away, he shot Lisa Turpin a thumbs up and nodded to Lobsang.

Harry paused before the stands and waved to grab the attention of everyone in the stands. "Riders and guests, thank you for coming here tonight. I would ask that you do not clap or shout when a rider impresses. The noise might distract a hatchling. We will be video taping the hatching and copies will be made available to each Weyr. We will hold a celebration afterward or tomorrow if it goes on too late," he said.

Harry then climbed the stairs into the stands and moved to a spot saved for him by his riders between May and Hermione.

"Any minute now," he murmured.

"How did you know to come here tonight, Harry? Most of us were going to bed." asked Hermione.

Harry shrugged. "I didn't know. I just thought I would look in on the eggs one last time before I turned in."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something when May interrupted.

"Look!" she said, pointing to an egg in the middle of the sands. The crack was clearly visible and widening as a snout started to push through.

With a final push, the head popped through the hole and unbalanced the egg. The egg toppled over and shattered, spilling a Ukrainian Ironbelly onto the sands. The hatchling stood on wobbly legs and shook off pieces of the shell, then he turned and seemed to aim for a specific person. The little dragon made a beeline for one of the Maziang group.

As soon as the first egg broke, the crooning of all the dragons changed to a soft humming as if they were trying to entice the hatchlings from their eggs.

The little Ironbelly stopped in front of a boy and the pair stared at each other for a moment as if they were shocked by what they saw. The boy dropped to his knees in front of the dragon and the little dragon moved close enough to nudge him with his snout. "Thoo jaychay, thoo jaychay," muttered the boy loudly.

Both Hermione and May started to sniffle at the sight of the boy with his arms wrapped around his dragon. Harry looked at both and sighed, then he pulled his wand and conjured two handkerchiefs and passed one to each girl.

Remus, who was sitting behind them, leaned forward. "He's saying thank you," he whispered. He had taken the time to learn a little of the dialect spoken by the people from Maziang.

Harry nodded. It was a sentiment he could easily understand. He turned to look at Remus. "Note the brown coloring. I think this confirms it."

Remus nodded. "Yes, I also noted the coloring was missing in the non-bonded dragons born since you impressed. It must be related to the impression."

May gasped as six eggs broke open at once. In each case the little hatchling zeroed in on a particular candidate as soon as they were free from the shell.

Harry watched for a moment longer with a slight frown. There were now nearly thirty people on the sands who had impressed. "Dobby," he called. He suddenly realized that they had overlooked something very important.

Dobby appeared with a soft pop. "Harry Potter, sir?" he asked.

"Go to Hagrid and ask if there is anyway you and the other elves can help him. He's got too many weyrlings to deal with by himself. Tell him I'll be there in a bit," Harry said.

"Yes, Harry Potter, sir," replied Dobby who then vanished with a pop.

Harry turned slightly and both girls watched him worriedly. They weren't sure what was bothering him. _"Garanoth, Comaloth, Wivaronth,"_ he called silently.

"_Weyrleader?"_ came three startled replies. These were the dragons of the wing seconds.

"_Tell your riders to pick three people from their wing to assist Hagrid,"_ he ordered. _"There are too many hatchlings for him to handle alone."_

Hermione turned to stare at Harry in shock and he gave her an apologetic shrug. "We never really considered that Hagrid would be alone in handling one hundred and twenty six new riders," he mumbled.

She glanced over to see Hagrid trying to bring order to the Weyrlings and having trouble. First hunger was hitting the hatchlings hard and Hagrid couldn't possibly handle everyone by himself. The little dragons where upset about the delay in being fed and in turn their riders were starting to question why things were delayed.

Harry stood and grinned to himself as nine other riders also stood and made their way to the stairs.

Harry walked over to Hagrid, who was looking decidedly harried. He stepped up to his friend and placed a hand on his arm. "Here, let us help," he said softly, then he turned to the new riders and their very hungry dragons. "You five are to come with me," he commanded, pointing to five new riders, then he turned and led them from the hatching chamber.

Following his example, Harry's riders stepped forward and grabbed five Weyrlings each. Outside the chamber, the elves had hastily erected a sectioned off feeding pen. Harry directed each Rider to take his hatchling into an empty section of the pen. As soon as the dragon entered the section, an elf delivered a hobbled sheep to the pen and the little dragon pounced on it.

Harry stood back, his arms folded and watched the whole process, satisfied that the crises had been averted.

Sirius trotted up to him with a huge grin. "Can you use any help?"

He glanced around then he nodded. "Can you conjure some torches? We never anticipated a night hatching. It's bad enough it gets dark early, but people need to see the paths to their Weyrs. I thought we had planned things well enough, but I guess we didn't."

Sirius nodded and started making the torches. When there was a sizable stack of them, an elf appeared and snapped his fingers. The torches vanished from the pile and suddenly the bowl was lit up by torches lining the paths and entrances to the Weyrs. Sirius continued conjuring more torches and the elves came by to pick them up to light up the interior of the bowl.

Harry made five more trips back into the chamber escorting the Weyrlings over the course of four very long hours. He was pleased to see Lisa Turpin had impressed a Horntail. Lobsang had also impressed a Horntail while the two Americans had impressed a Horntail and a Ironbelly.

"_Weryleader, Smelly Dog says they need you back inside the chamber,"_ Norendrath said.

Harry look at the remaining Weyrlings and saw they were all feeding their dragons. "Wayne, tell my group where to go, would you? They say they need me inside."

Wayne Hopkins nodded. "Sure thing, Harry."

Tiredly, he trudged back into the chamber. It was now nearly four in the morning. He absently noted the small cluster of people looking unhappy. These were the extras that hadn't been picked. He made a note to speak with them tomorrow.

Up in the stands, people were breaking into clusters to talk about what had happened. More worrisome, he saw Sirius, Remus, Sir Robert and Lord Mills standing around an egg in the back corner of the hatching chamber. Sir Robert was bent over the egg using a stethoscope on it and looking very grim. Spath stood off to one side with another dragon that Harry assumed was the Egg Mother.

He quickly moved to join them. "What's the problem?" he asked.

Sirius turned and nodded grimly to Harry. "Partenth says the egg only quivered slightly then it stilled and never hatched."

Sir Robert climbed to his feet, then he pulled off the stethoscope and wiped at his brow. He saw Harry and his expression grew somber. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I can hear no sounds coming from the egg. I'm afraid the little dragon didn't survive."

"_It's gone, Weyrleader. It happens,"_ Partenth said solemnly. _"But my other egg lived. Jenth has impressed a good rider. Jenth will thrive and do well."_

Harry looked up at the large dragon in surprise. He realized that the dragons didn't consider it a live dragon until it had broken from the shell. He knew how the dragons felt, but this was his first time experiencing it first hand and it bothered him.

"What do we do with the egg?" Remus said softly.

"Partenth?" Harry asked uneasily.

"_It's gone, Weyrleader. In days past, we would push it from the nest. The dragon handlers would pick it up for their use."_

Harry shivered at the cold tone from Partenth, but he couldn't blame the dragon. The dragons might not regret the loss of a hatchling, but he certainly did.

"Harry, this could be a wonderful opportunity," Sir Robert started to say, then he paused when Harry held up his hand.

"I know what you're going to say, Sir Robert. You want to study it," Harry said unhappily. "I know that you could use it to learn many things that would help the dragons, but..." He stopped and took a shuddering breath. "Fine. Get it out of here and don't study it at Campbeltown. I recognize the need you have, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Remus placed a hand on Harry's shoulders sympathetically and he flinched away. "I'm turning in. It's been a long day," he muttered.

With that he turned and walked away from the group, his shoulders hunched as if he carried a heavy burden.

Partenth crooned softly at Harry's retreating back and the other dragons present took up her song.

"_He even mourns the unnamed,"_ Spath said solemnly. _"Is it any wonder he is our champion?"_

"Well damn," muttered Sirius.

"Quite," Sir Robert said in agreement. He was the first to pick up on Spath's comment. It was simple, and very logical in dragon minds. The egg never hatched, so the dragon inside never knew its name. Having no name, it therefore was not a dragon. He heaved a sigh, then he turned to Sirius to get his help removing the egg to a suitable laboratory.

In his weyr, Harry curled up between Chekiath's front paws. The day had been very long and he was exhausted and unhappy over the loss of the baby dragon. His dragon quickly picked up on his mood and crooned softly. _"Sleep, my Harry,"_ Chekiath said gently. _"Tomorrow we'll meet new friends and family."_

"G'nite, Cheki," he mumbled as he slipped into an uneasy sleep.

Word of the hatching spread from Disko to the other Weyrs and the dragons rejoiced, comforted by the fact that there were now one hundred and twenty five new riders. They were also surprised by the Weyrleader mourning the loss of a nameless egg. Every Weyr on Earth had now produced at least one egg for the impressions and they knew this Weyrleader would continue to bring them riders. The impression boosted the spirits of the dragons and confidence in their Weyrleader.

**Disko Island Hatching Chamber, November 17th...**

Three distinct groups of teens filed into the chamber just after breakfast. Harry stood on the hatching sands, waiting for everyone to get settled. He awoke feeling refreshed and renewed. A dragon might have been lost, but there were new riders to welcome to their fraternity. The new Weyrlings filed into the chamber and stayed on the sands with their dragons, unwilling to be parted from them just yet. Up in the stands, his riders and the small group of fifteen people that hadn't impressed sat.

Harry glanced around and noted that Lisa Turpin kept one hand on her Zinth. He winked at her and turned to face the rest of the Weyrlings. "Riders, if you would join the others in the stands, please? Trust me when I say that your dragons will be safe on the hatching sand and they'll be able to see you just fine," he said, then smiled as some grumbled about leaving their dragons. The newly bonded didn't like separating and for the first week would stay in very close contact with each other. It was part of the process, but Harry also knew they needed to build the concept of some 'alone time' into their bond.

As the new riders moved to the stands and the hatchlings curled up on the warm sand to watch their riders, Harry turned to the others who hadn't impressed.

"You fifteen didn't impress and I regret that almost as much as you do. But you have my solemn promise as Weyrleader that you will continue to be presented to the dragons until you either impress or pass the age of impression. The next impression will not be for a few months, so you will have an option of staying on at Campbeltown Weyr and helping out or you can return to your homes and come back just before the next impression.

"In the meantime, I thank you for your help. Remus and Sirius," he waved towards the pair of men standing by the entrance, "have arranged for your transportation back to Campbeltown, and from there, home if you wish. Please follow them."

"You'll really let us try again?" asked one teen anxiously.

Harry smiled at the boy. "You have my promise as a dragon rider on it."

"Good enough for me," said the boy, then he stood and walked over to where Remus stood. One by one the others joined him and the wizards led the fifteen from the chamber. Harry watched with a tinge of sadness, then he turned back to the much enlarged group of dragon riders.

"Good morning, dragon riders," he said loudly and with a very broad smile.

His riders had been expecting this and they started cheering. Their numbers had more than tripled overnight and to the riders it was like finding lost family. The new riders were shocked for a moment, then they joined in in the celebration.

Harry waited a few minutes, then he held up his hand, waving them to silence.

He nodded to Millicent, who he had asked to take notes of the meeting, then he turned back to the others. "Millicent is taking notes for us. But first I would like to spend a little time talking about the impression."

Harry paused and took a deep breath, then he hooked his thumb in his pocket.

"First off," he began, "what went wrong and what went right. Last night was our third ever impression and it never occurred to us that the dragons might hatch in the middle of the night. We were unprepared for that and it caught us by surprise. This Weyr is not far from the Arctic circle. Daylight hours are very limited and when you consider that we're dealing with November/February hatching times, it should have been obvious."

He paused and gave the riders a challenging look. "Can anyone else tell me what went wrong?"

One of the Maziang riders stood hesitantly and she bowed to Harry then she said something softly. _"Bolomarr says it seemed that the food animals weren't ready for us. She also said that the elves organized quickly and efficiently to provide the meal."_

Harry nodded gratefully. He had been worried that the new riders would be too intimidated to criticize anything. "That's right. We assumed that one person would be able to handle all of the new hatchlings and lead them out to an area where they could feed. The elves erected a new feeding pen and made sure that each hatching had a timely delivery of an animal. Anything else?"

One of the Americans stood up. "Some of the guests never showed up. My parents were in Condron, but they never made it to Disko," he said.

Harry nodded. "We'd spent the last two weeks working on getting the candidates used to the idea of riding on dragon back, but we expected the guests to do it on the first shot. It's something we have to address and do better at next time."

Harry stood while the riders and Weyrlings tossed out comments for the next twenty minutes, highlighting things that had worked well and things that hadn't. After twenty minutes he smiled and raised a hand. "This was our third impression ever and we're all still learning. There are no experts here and your comments will go a long way to insuring that in February we won't repeat the same mistakes.

"Now, for you new riders, here's the plan. For the next sixty five days you will be trained in how to care for your dragon. The first thirty of those days will be here in Disko Island, then you will leave here and begin a tour of every Weyr in the world. During your stay here, there will be at least one Wing of experienced riders here everyday to help the Weyrling Master in class. You can always ask a rider about any issue concerning your dragon."

He paused and waited for the dragons to translate for the Maziang riders then he continued. "At some point before you leave here, the senior dragon will choose one or more persons to be the Weyrleader for your Weyr. These people will be in charge of the day to day operation of their Weyrs and make the bulk of the decisions regarding how the Weyr is run. However, policy regarding nations and governments is not something you will deal with. That will remain under my control alone."

"You? Why you?" asked girl from the American group. She stood and looked down at Harry who was at least a year or more younger than her and several inches shorter than she was.

Harry frowned and glared the girl who was questioning his authority. Suddenly, all of the hatchlings bellowed and one turned to stare at her rider.

"_He is The Weyrleader. Without him, we would not be here,"_ she said sternly. _"The Weyrleader can speak to every dragon and every dragon obeys him."_

The girl paled and looked horrified by the stern rebuke from her own dragon. "I'm sorry," she murmured, then she quickly sat back down.

The sunlight streaming in from the entrance to the Hatching chamber was suddenly blocked as Chekiath moved into the chamber. His huge size dwarfed the hatchlings. It drove home a very obvious point. Of all of the impressed dragons, his was the largest and the most mature dragon. It was also clear that the hatchlings deferred to Chekiath, moving to make room for the large dragon.

Harry watched the girl for a moment, then he smiled slightly, trying to soften the moment. "I alone am responsible for every dragon on the planet. Those who are chosen as Weyrleader for your Weyr will act with my authority for all your local matters. The only time I will get involved is when it becomes an issue that affects dragons as a nation. And make no mistake. You are now part of a nation of dragon riders, unique and partially independent from your home country.

"We have fought, bled and died for the right of dragons to be recognized as a people. Perhaps a people that need humans, but a people nonetheless. The person to your left and to your right right is your brother or sister. Even if you don't speak the same language, we all share a common bond because of our dragons. Make it a point in the next sixty five days to get to know each other, both from your weyr and from the others."

He glanced up at Chekiath, who was looking at the riders.

His dragon looked down at him. _"We're ready when you are, Harry,"_ he said.

Harry smiled. "It was our plan to hold a celebration feast in the Gringotts chamber after your impression. Because the impression started so late, that wasn't possible. Our guests from last night will be returning in an hour and we'll hold the feast then. Take the opportunity to spend some time with your parents and our guests. Introduce them to your dragon, relax and enjoy the day. Tomorrow breakfast will be from seven to eight in the morning, then classes will begin in this chamber. Do not be late. Dismissed."

Harry stepped back and glanced up at Cheki. "That went better than I thought," he said softly.

"_I think you will always find at least one person who will want to know why you are Weyrleader."_

He shrugged. "I suppose. Let's just hope we don't end up with someone unwilling to accept it."

**The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, November 20th...**

Tobias Bunniford grunted heavily and watched the girl with satisfaction. She was well worth the extra ten galleons for her talents.

Anna slowly looked up and leaned back, gazing at her current client. She knew she had pleased him and expected a nice tip.

"Was that good enough for you, Tobby?" she asked.

He grinned at her. "Anna, whenever you want to come away from all this, I'd be happy to offer you a mistress contract. My wife never need know about it."

"Tobby," she chided, "when will you learn I like where I am? I have people that appreciate my abilities and I'm in high demand. But if the rumors are true, I would see you're soon going to be my most special client."

Tobias frowned. "Rumors? What rumors?"

She leaned forward and gently fondled his flaccid member. "Word in the alley is that you're organizing a group to take back our world. I even heard that news of your group has reached very important people on the continent."

Bunniford frowned and for a moment tried to ignore what Anna was doing. But she was too experienced and too adept in casting wandless sex spells. It was what made her among the most sought after courtesans on the alley.

"I know one man that was asking for you today," Anna murmured, then she bent down slightly and ran the tip of her tongue over him. He never realized she was casting a compulsion charm on him. Sex related magic was not her only specialty.

"I'd like to meet him... later," Tobias announced, then he reached down to guide her head.

Anna crowed to herself. Arranging this meeting would net her one thousand galleons, quite a handy sum and much better than the paltry sixty galleons she earn servicing this client.

**Buckingham Palace, November 21st...**

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister and Lord Mills are here to see you," a man said.

The Queen looked up from her desk and put aside the document she was reading. "Send them in," she replied.

The man opened the door and motioned to the two gentlemen.

John Major entered, followed by an obviously nervous Lord Mills. For almost a year, ever since he'd caught Harry buying his sheep on that cold December night, his life had been turned upside down. Now he was involved in one of the most important projects the country had ever participated in and his only wish was that his wife had lived to see it.

"Gentlemen, do come in and sit, please," the Queen said, then she turned to Lord Mills. She had been reading a dossier that her people had put together on the man before he arrived. He was a minor lord and a minor member of parliament before getting involved with the dragons. Locally very popular with his people and very concerned about their problems. In short, he was the kind of politician that she liked to see. One who was genuinely concerned about his people. He had a wife who had passed away several years back from cervical cancer, one son who was attending university and no known vices other than the occasional drink.

She smiled, trying to put Mills at ease. "Lord Mills, we understand you recently returned from the Hatching Weyr in Greenland. How did things go?"

James smiled. "It went very well, Your Majesty. We now have forty five new riders to our Weyr. We had a team of three people, plus one roving cameraman, filming the impression. Thanks to the Prime Minister's public relations office, we've edited the impression down to a single one hour tape for you to look at," he replied, then he opened his briefcase and extracted a tape, which he placed on the coffee table.

The Queen nodded with a slight smile. She would enjoy watching it, as the process intrigued her. Someday she hoped she would be able to witness an impression first hand. She had been deeply moved when she witnessed the bond in action, mourning the loss of one of their own dragons. It was that point that drove home just how different and unique the dragon bond was.

"How did our Weyrleader handle it? Did everything go off smoothly?" she asked.

James shook his head and chuckled. "Like every other new venture, there were mistakes and errors. Surprisingly, the Weyrleader quickly identified some of the biggest problems and took steps to correct them in a very timely manner," he said, then he paused for a second. "When I consider the Harry that I first met in a wintery field in Scotland, to the Harry of only a few days ago, I am amazed by how far he's come in such a short amount of time.

"He identified the problems and immediately took steps to fix them. And like a good leader, he pitched in right along with his people, rather than just ordering others about."

The Queen nodded to herself. "We are pleased to know he's doing well. We have read the reports from his tutor, Mr. Franklin, as well as his personal opinions about the Weyrleader. It is to our great shame that he holds so little allegiance to our country, but we have only ourselves to blame for failing him."

The Queen straightened in her chair. "There is no sense mourning over lost opportunities. We must push forward and the one way we feel to accomplish that would be to consider going public with the dragons come the new year."

Major and Mills exchanged a glance of concern between them.

"Going public, Ma'am?" asked John Major in alarm. They had considered the idea and were actively pursuing some options, but the Queen sounded like she was ready to invite the TV crews in.

The Queen smiled thinly. "Oh, do not worry so, Sir John, We're not suggesting that we simply throw open the gates of the Weyr to Skynews. No, we feel it can be done in phases. Sir Robert has alerted me to the desire of the Weyrleader to first confront certain Ambassadors so that they can alert their own governments. We think the idea has merit and would like to see select members of our government also let in on the secret. Properly managed, we could be looking a full disclosure sometime in the summer or surely by the next new year."

"The Weyrleader has asked several of the riders to help put together a video, introducing the concept of dragons to people. He hopes it would ease the initial shock of meeting a dragon for the first time. Ambassador Poulsen has turned out to be a big help with his government, but the man fainted when he met Chekiath," Lord Mills said softly.

John Major nodded. "Yes, Sir Robert routed a request to make use of my public affairs office for video editing. In fact, we used the impression to stress the secrecy agreements on our employees and then had them edit the impression recordings. We'll be ready for any tapes the Weyr produces."

The Queen nodded and turned a stern gaze on her Prime Minister. "Sir John, we are not unaware of how important this coming year is to you and your party. We would ask that you share with your opposition leadership, or at least brief them, so that they can continue your efforts should the elections go against you."

Sir John blinked and nodded. He realized there was a very carefully phrased request in the Queen's statement that he did not defer the projects created by the dragons in favor of his campaign. "I will personally brief the Labor leadership, Ma'am."

The Queen and the Prime Minister stared at each other for a moment longer, then she nodded, satisfied that the message was understood. The dragons represented a boon to the country that superseded party politics.

**Office of the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Magic, November 22nd...**

"Are you all set for your meeting tomorrow, Albus?" asked Sir William.

Albus Dumbledore looked up from the printout he was reading. He had recently learned he could print out his emails rather than read them on the screen, so he had started doing so, making use of the larger font available.

"The ICW meeting tomorrow will be our first chance to address the issues raised by our takeover. Most of the people there know me, or know my reputation. I should be able to sway at least some of the more moderate Ministries to resume normal relations," Albus replied.

"What do you think about taking Potter with you?" asked Croaker.

Dumbledore blinked and looked intrigued for a moment. "To present evidence for dragon intelligence?"

Croaker nodded. "And to introduce him," he added.

Harry was a mage class wizard, one of the few in Britain, and as such it was tradition to introduce him to the ICW delegations shortly after his sixteenth birthday. Bringing him there early for the dragon issue would allow them to also address his introduction. Both men felt that if he were asked to go just for the purpose of introducing him to the ICW, he would refuse.

While a source of pride to the nation, the introduction of a new mage wasn't really a big deal. Albus realized that he could slip it in offhandedly at a meeting without upsetting Harry, who would concentrate on the dragon issue.

The dragons were another issue that had to be dealt with at the international level. The British wizarding publications had been filled with articles on dragons and Harry's trip to Diagon Alley and Hogwarts had been front page news with massive photo coverage. Unfortunately, some of the continental press had ignored the news coming from Britain, claiming it to be fabricated.

Albus leaned back in his chair. "I don't know. Perhaps the next meeting, after some of the other nations learn we're ready to start exporting certain dragon products again. Harry wouldn't have any time to prepare for tomorrow's meeting."

Croaker nodded. He knew about the agreement between Nelson Ollivander and the Weyr. Ollivander's nephew was already supplying dragon scale wand cores to a dozen wand makers in the British Isles and he expected to start supplying them to the United States and Canada by the month's end. In addition, Gringotts had begun shipments of dung and ground dragon teeth powder, which was a key ingredient in cardiac restorative potions.

"It's a good idea, Albus," Sir William offered. "But I agree one day isn't enough time. He's still at Disko, isn't he?"

Albus nodded. "Yes, they have their hands full training up the new riders and Harry's been quite busy with that."

"Then send him a message asking to talk to him about joining you at the next meeting of the ICW," Sir William offered.

Albus nodded, then he turned back to his computer. Leaning closer to the machine, he peered at the screen, then looked at his keyboard as he began to type.

Sir William chucked and jotted off a quick note to the fledgling IT department to send someone over to set Albus' machine to use a bigger font.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- First off, to all those that left unsigned reviews, thank you, we greatly enjoyed deleting them.

- A number of readers commented on the two missing dementors, expressing concern, but no one thought of the most likely issue concerning them. No where in canon does it say that Dementors are solely found in the UK. Dementors are a bigger issue than anyone realizes. Most countries in the world have some variation of the species.

- We had several people chide us about using "five thousand million" and told us a Brit picker would have told us not to use that. And then there were an equal number of people that have in the past complained that no respectable Brit would use "Billion". So just to set the record straight. I'm not British, Scottish, Welsh or any other UK nationality. I don't use a Brit picker because I have seen authors that have used one, then get raked over the coals because now instead of complaining about Brit picking they are going to Scot pick, or Irish pick or buttcrack pick. Damned if you don't, damned if you do. Since you're going to complain, not using one means stuff gets to you faster. There. Complain about that.

- It should be pointed out that Sidraneth, the Queen that came to Earth was from just prior to Forth Pass in the Pern storyline, or roughly more than 1000 years after the humans colonized the planet. A lot of the Pern books occurred in Ninth Pass, nearly three thousand years after colonization. So anything that was discovered in a book like "All the Weyrs of Pern" was unknown in Sidraneth's time and needs to be rediscovered.

- The Earl of Rosshire wants to know how closely things will follow real life events. We made a few tweaks here and there, but the Blair win of 1997 will remain unchanged. In fact we will see Tony early in 1996 as he lends a hand to the crown in informing his party about dragons and what benefit they offer.

- A number of people have come forward suggesting possible things the dragons can do. Well we're way ahead of every one here and don't be surprised if at some point you see something along the lines of what you suggested. That doesn't mean that we took your suggestion. All it means is that we're smarter than you and thought of it first!

- A suggestion came for chapter summaries. Now I don't know about you folks, but generally speaking when I get a notice of a story I really like has been updated, I rush over and reread the last chapter before reading the new one. Summaries in written works? Nope, that's a thing for TV. If you can't remember something you have an amazing button that allows you to see the other chapters. Wow.

And finally our recommendation for this chapter is an oldie but goodie.

Title: Insidious Inquisitor  
Author: Yunaine  
StoryID: 4390267

This is a fun little what if romp that leaves you wishing the author had fleshed it out into a multichapter tale. Have a read and if you like it, drop them a review to help boost the story up in the list.

**Remember, Signed Reviews Good Idea, Unsigned Reviews, Bad Idea.  
Typing your account name into the field below DOES NOT LOG YOU IN!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob stumbled onto the stage and stared in bewilderment at the stacks of boxes. "What the devil?"

"No no! Go to commercial!" Alyx shouted, then she waved at Bob from her control booth.

Bob saw her waving and yelled. "What the hell are you doing? This is supposed to be the disclaimer!"

Alyx flipped a switch so she could be heard. "We're trying to save Slobnovia from financial ruin remember? So now we have to market all the merchandise we had made. I've hijacked the Christian Broadcasting Network's satellite to bring people the Home Who Who network! Now pick up a shirt and hold it out to the camera and when I point to you, tell people about the shirt. And why they need to buy one!"

Bob wiped at his face tiredly. All he wanted was to go back to a normal disclaimer, torturing Snape and dancing technicolor penguins! But no! His wife had to go Who Who crazy!

Reluctantly he picked up a t-shirt and looked at it. On the front was a penis wearing a sombrero. Someone had painted a smiley face on the appendage. A hand showed a thumbs up. Under the image was a slogan of "Don't rub me the wrong way!", on the back was another slogan, "Who who's for world peace!"

Suddenly a camera lit up and Alyx gestured. Bob blinked and he hesitantly held up the shirt. "This quality T-Shirt can be yours today. Be the first on your block to proudly wear a who who on your chest!"

Bob frowned, behind him a chorus line of technicolor penguins danced across the stage, dragging a screaming Snape to his doom.

"Oh for the love..." Bob said, then he threw the shirt down and glared up at control booth. This was going too far! "All I want is a disclaimer telling people we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragonriders of Pern and you're running around drawing smiley faces on penises, then selling them to Christians!"

Alyx smiled and held up a huge bag of money.

Bob blinked. "Really?"

"Maybe we can replace that three legged Llama after all," he muttered, then he picked up the shirt again. "People will buy anything."

He smiled at the camera. "God wants you to share your who who with the world!"

Alyx snickered in the control booth and murmured, "It's amazing what a bag of shredded newspapers can make someone do."

* * *

**- It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.  
Mark Twain**

**Chinese Embassy London, November 25th...**

The door to the nondescript office opened and Colonel Jin Tan Mu looked up from the papers he was examining.

"Ah, do come in, comrade Captain," he said, then he reached for a cigarette. "You have news for me?"

Wei Fong nodded nervously and handed over a sheet of paper, then he turned towards a large map. "We have heard from two of your teams, Comrade Colonel. The team dispatched to HMNB Clyde is reporting increased activity lately, and they report the imperialists are again employing anti-satellite counter measures, a practice which they had stopped nearly two years ago."

"Yes, I have been informed that our old friends, the Russians, have also recently developed an interest in this area. Perhaps they search for the same thing we do?" replied the Colonel. _The imperials were especially effective in their anti-satellite countermeasures,_ he thought sourly.

"Perhaps, comrade Colonel, but I suspect what you seek isn't in HMNB Clyde," replied the station chief.

The Colonel turned a hard glare on the man. "Explain," he said softly.

Wei Fong knew he was on dangerous ground, but he plunged ahead anyway. "HMNB Clyde is a navy base shared by both the British and sometimes the Americans. It is an active naval facility and sees a lot of activity. But I have to ask myself, our man was part of a team that consisted of a Physicist, a Biologist and an Astronomer. What purpose would these professions have at a Navy base that has never been known as a major source of this type of research activity before?"

The Colonel stared up at the map plastered against the wall. Next to it were several photographs of the HMNB Clyde facility and other places. He inhaled deeply on his cigarette, thinking. Finally he said, "You do make a compelling argument, Comrade Captain. And this second location? Further north up the western coast?"

"MoD Machrihanish is a former Royal Air Force facility that has been mostly decommissioned. From the report of your team they have been unable to spot any significant air traffic around the facility. They do have some interesting discrepancies to note however," Wei Fong replied, he glanced up and the Colonel motioned for him to continue.

"Yes, well, there is a military security force now in place, the first significant military force in several years. At this point, your people think it's a small force. It may be that the imperialists are getting ready to reactivate the facility.

"Additionally, it appears that part of the facility has been sold, perhaps to one of the industrial conglomerates."

The Colonel looked up with interest. "What?"

The concept of selling part or all of a military base caught the Colonel by surprise. The People's Republic would never resort to such a low measure as to consort with the capitalist dogs that were infiltrating his country. And when the government did deal with such, it was always to the advantage of the party.

Wei Fong nodded. "Part of the facility is undergoing construction. As part of that effort, new fencing has been put into place that performed two functions. First, it pushed into the old base, absorbing a large piece of land and some buildings. Secondly, it blocks the view of the base. Listening to some of the work crews, they do not know who is paying for the construction, but they do know they are laying the ground work for some sort of power research facility. They believe that either one of the industrial conglomerates or the government is building a research station to explore new methods of power generation.

"Given that the imperialist government is known for exploring alternate sources of power generation, they may be planning on putting up an experimental wind farm. The location close to the coast makes it ideal for such an endeavor and there is ample land outside of the base to install wind turbines," Wei Fong said in conclusion.

The Colonel examined the report again in silence, then he snuffed out his smoke and glanced up at the map. "And what do your instincts tell you about this place?" he asked, partly out of curiosity.

Wei Fong looked at the map then he looked at the Colonel. "I think, Comrade Colonel," he said slowly, "that this place bears more scrutiny. Right now there is little to say for or against it being the location we seek. I would label this as a point of interest that we should come back to."

The Colonel nodded slowly, his opinion matched that of the comrade Captain, not that he'd admit it to the man. "Very well. Inform our team to move onto the next area of interest. We will come back tothis place for a closer look if we fail to find what we seek."

"Yes, Comrade Colonel. I'll inform your team to move north to Ormsary," replied Wei Fong.

The Colonel nodded and waved the man away. He turned to the list and examined the entry for Ormsary. It supposedly contained an agricultural research station run by the imperialists, but they knew they also had some equipment that wasn't ordinarily used for agriculture.

**Administration Tent, Disko Island Hatching Weyr, November 28th...**

Harry stood by an enchanted window gazing out across the bowl as everyone filed into the room. When he heard the door close he turned and nodded a greeting to everyone. The room was fairly full today. His Wing Leaders were present, as well as Lord Mills, Master Jangbu, Jasper Brady and Remus, who was sitting off to one side watching a dicta-quill record the meeting for his history record.

The wing seconds, Ronan, Michelle and Hermione, took seats along the wall.

He waited for a moment for everyone to get settled, then he stepped up to the head of the large conference table. "The dragons have decided and I have agreed to support their decision," he said quietly. "In a moment I'll summon in our new Weyrleaders and we'll explain what's happened."

Draco leaned forward eagerly, "Did they go the way you thought?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, I am rather pleased with the decisions. From what I understand it was an easy one to make. Let's just hope the dragons never find themselves unable to pick."

An murmur of agreement rippled through the room and Harry's eyes glazed over for a moment as he summoned the required people. When he finished that, he turned to Hermione. "Can you prepare some blank organization charts based around our Weyr? The new leaders will need to assemble their own wings and organization; I think some blank charts might help."

She glanced up in surprise and nodded.

The door opened and in filed Lobsang from Maziang, followed by Katherine Matthews and Frank Taylor.

The trio looked at everyone sitting around and exchanged worried looks amongst themselves. Harry stepped around the table and moved to join the three newcomers. "After much consideration, the senior dragons have settled on you three as Weyrleader for your Weyr."

Lobsang's brow furrowed, but before he could speak one of the others broke in. "What? There are two of us here, Weyrleader. How is that supposed to work?"

Harry smiled and motioned for the three to sit. "All right, let's start with Condron Weyr," he said, then he looked pointedly at the Frank and Kat. "Ralaninth has considered all of the riders from your group. I even gave him permission to look over the people in the British group. What he had to say was simple. He asked that both of you share the position."

"He did? Why?" asked Kat Matthews.

"This isn't meant as an insult, but he said that you and Frank would make an excellent team because you each would cancel out the one flaw in the other," Jasper added.

Frank glanced over to the man. "Flaw?" he repeated with a touch of anger.

Harry placed a hand on Frank's shoulder. "Ralaninth believes that you tend to be impulsive, whereas Kat tends to spend too much time considering options before making a decision. He feels that combined you would make a powerful force of leadership for the Weyr. Ralaninth also feels that you can work together easily. He says and I'll quote, 'together they will act as a Weyrleader should'."

Frank looked down at the table top and muttered something, then he looked up. "Yeah, I'd say Ralaninth has me pegged to rights. My choices haven't always been good ones."

He looked over towards Katherine and she nodded in agreement. "I spent a full week considering the offer to come to the Weyr when they approached me. I had planned on being a Charms mistress, but the allure of Weyr was very strong."

"_I'm glad you did, Kat,"_ Lokith, her dragon, declared. _"I never would have met you otherwise."_

Several in the room chuckled and she blushed deeply, then she looked towards one wall. "I'm glad I did too, sweetheart."

"Can you two work together then? I'm not going to tell you how to arrange it, but I will say that I don't want you coming to me to break a deadlock unless you feel that your co-leader's decision will endanger the Weyr," Harry said.

Frank shrugged with an appraising look towards Kat. "I'm willing to give it a try. We haven't mixed much with the wizards in our group. Maybe it's that changed."

Kat nodded and gave Frank a weak smile. The group had been expecting one person to be chosen. Two was a surprise. She never dreamed she'd be tapped, or that she'd be asked to work with Skip. The teen was an imposing figure, very athletic and buff, but also loud and a bit brash in her opinion. Now they would be sharing the most important job in the Weyr.

Harry straightened and grinned at the pair. "Excellent," he declared, then he turned to Lobsang and placed a hand on his shoulder. "My friend, Nokrenth has asked for you to accept the position."

The boy nodded nervously. "You honor me, Weyrleader. I am not sure that I am best suited for such an exalted position."

Harry snorted with laughter, then he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Lobsang. I mean you no insult. The position of Weyrleader is filled with responsibility and worry. If there are any special privileges to the job, I have yet to discover them. Ever since the first day we met months ago I knew you were special. You had a reverence for dragons that I didn't discover until after I impressed.

"I know in my heart that you will be the very best Weyrleader for your riders and you'll turn Maziang into a Weyr to be proud of," Harry said, then he turned to the two Americans. "I want each of you to understand that you can always come to me if you need advice on something. I don't know you as well as I'd like and I hope to fix that in the coming months. I do know this, the dragons chose you. And that is good enough for me."

Harry walked back to the head of the table and sat down, then he opened up his little notebook and made a mark. He waited while all three new Weyrleaders dealt with congratulations from the dragons and the riders.

He glanced up and grinned. "Speaking of responsibilities. Hermione will be providing you with blank organization charts based on the structure we have at Campbeltown. You do not have to follow it to the letter, but I want you to flesh out your basic wing structures no later than December tenth.

"We will be issuing your complete kit, including bows and ammunition bandoliers on the tenth. No rider shall be unarmed until we have resolved our issues with the wizarding world. Kat? Lobsang? I'll ask Remus to speak to both of you to arrange a basic class in enchanting the bolts we use. Most of our ammunition load is non-lethal and I want to keep it that way.

"Maziang will come to Campbeltown after they return home so that they may be instructed in proper handling of the weapons. I'll expect Condron to seek advice and training from your American security detachment," Harry said, then he looked up at Jasper, who nodded. He'd make sure they'd get those classes.

"Until you are trained fully in using the weapons, you'll keep the ammunition bandoliers locked up. I want your wings to get accustomed to wearing the bows for now though." Harry said, then he paused and waited for the translation.

When Lobsang nodded, he continued, "The riders will depart from Disko Island on the seventeenth to begin their Weyr tour, first stop will be Campbeltown. Ronan, Hagrid is asking for ten of our riders to accompany them, so circulate a sign up sheet asking for volunteers. Make sure Lee doesn't sign up for every day. He really needs his math classes."

Ronan nodded and chuckled, then made a note on a pad he balanced on his knee.

Harry glanced down again, then he looked up. "Campbeltown currently has three wings of ten riders each, but the non-bonded dragons are grouped in wings of twenty. I am considering increasing wing sizes to twenty. That would mean that Condron and Maziang would have two wings to start, while Campbeltown would have three full wings and one that's two people short. Wingleaders? Seconds? Comments?"

"It's a good idea, Harry," Draco said after a moment. "If we kept the ten man wings, we'd be drowning in wings."

"That may still happen. I can easily see a time when we're grouping wings into divisions," Ronan offered with a grimace. "On the other hand, it means more work for the seconds."

"That was bound to happen anyway," Harry replied. "With more people coming on board we'll be able to accomplish more. Sir Robert has been sitting around thinking of things dragons could do and that list is growing daily. Hot Rocks are only the tip of the iceberg and we're going to need the people to handle everything."

Frank groaned and placed his head into his hands. "Ouch!" he muttered. Kat chuckled and he looked up. "So we don't get private hot tubs and cable TV?"

Harry laughed. "No, but you do get to ride herd on a bunch of teenage riders, deal with fifty tons of dragon dung a month, and deliver several hundred dragon scales every month to your nation's wand makers. And someday soon we'll be making Hot Rocks by the tons."

Frank grimaced and sunk lower in his seat.

Ronan chuckled, "You have it easy. Condron only has half the dragons we do. We have nearly one hundred tons of dung a month."

Harry laughed and made a note in his book, then he looked up again. "Lobsang, Frank and Kat, I'd like you to schedule your riders for a meeting tonight so that you can inform them of the leadership. And with that, I'm done for this meeting. Does anyone have anything to add?"

"Weyrleader," Lobsang said hesitantly.

Harry held up a hand. "Lobsang, please. I hope we can be friends. Call me Harry. The same goes for you Frank, Kat."

Lobsang looked surprised, then he blushed slightly and nodded. "Harry, we can always come back to you if we need help?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. In fact, I expect that we'll be meeting once a month for many years to come," Harry said softly. "Soon, perhaps as early as next year, the world will know of us. We need to plan for that. We need to protect our dragons and the thousands of dragons that have no riders to shield them from mankind. Make no mistake, some people will love us, and some will hate everything we represent. That's why we fly patrols over our Weyrs and carry weapons. It will only be through hard work on our part that we'll be able to convince the rest of the world to accept us. But we'll never convince everyone."

As Harry spoke Chekiath passed a vision of Harry's ideas to everyone in the room. The vision of a public Weyr that openly flew in the skies of it's parent nation generated awe in each of them. Harry wanted to return to places like Happy Smiles Daycare in Leicester so the children could meet a dragon up close. It was this image more than any other that created determination in the others.

**The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, November 29th...**

Tobias Bunniford slipped into the small room and closed the door behind him. Anna had sent him a note saying that the gentleman that wanted to meet with him was back.

"You are very prompt, Senor," said a voice.

Bunniford whirled around and groped for his wand. Across the room sat a man at a small round table. He casually smoked a cigarette and watched Bunniford with veiled contempt. "Senor, let us put aside the histrionics. If I had wanted you dead, you would be dead. Now come, sit and let us talk as men and perhaps, friends, no?"

"Who are you?" stammered Bunniford. The man was seriously rattled by this encounter.

"I am a man with much to offer your little band, Senor," the man said smugly. He was a representative of a foreign ministry and one of their chief hit wizards who had a side hobby in studying muggle villains and modeling his life after them. "Some call me Carlos, Carlos the Gerbil. You may call me Senor Carlos."

Like many wizards, Carlos' information sources on muggle life was somewhat skewered. He wanted an alias that would strike fear in the hearts of men. And while Carlos the Gerbil might have chosen a better name for himself, he was supremely competent and adept in the fine art of revolution and death.

Bunniford nodded and moved to take a seat across from Carlos the Gerbil. He knew of the name, it was spoken of only in whispers and dark corners. Some said that a muggle terrorist had copied his name, others said he killed his own parents and fed them to his familiar. Still others claimed he killed a dangerous muggle terrorist and took his name.

All Bunniford knew was he was seriously outclassed by this enigmatic man with the strange name.

The two men stared at each other for a long minute of silence, then Bunniford dropped his eyes. "You asked to meet with me, sir?"

"I did," replied Carlos. "I have become aware that you lead a small band of people unhappy with the way the Muggles have run roughshod over your ministry. I'm even aware of the minor acts of civil disobedience you have indulged yourselves in. Really, Senor Bunniford, do you think that casting a few confundus charms or sending a handful of ink bombs to sabotage the newspaper will affect the new ministry in anyway?"

Bunniford bristled slightly. "My men are all good lads, but none of them are really fighters. We haven't been trained for this sort of thing and we're certainly not Death Eaters," he replied hotly.

Carlos the Gerbil smiled thinly. This was the first real honest reaction he had gotten from Bunniford that he felt good about. "Senor, I understand your difficulties. I and my associates are interested in helping you. You fight for a noble cause and we know our help can aid you in stiffening the backs of your followers."

"Help? How?"

Carlos took another drag on his cigarette then he stubbed it out. "We can put you in touch with some people who are more suited to physical action and we can help with money, potions, perhaps even some training in how to fight these muggles that usurped your country. Mark my words, Senor, what is happening here threatens to happen elsewhere. Unless we combat it, all wizard kind stands to lose."

Bunniford nodded. This was exactly what he had been telling his people. They needed to fight. He smiled at the man. "We would be grateful for your support and advice, Carlos," he said.

Carlos nodded, then he reached under the table and picked up a small bag which he slid across the table. "Inside you will find money and several books on how to enhance your casting for greater effect. We also have provided you with a list of suggested targets and actions you could take against them. More support like this will be forthcoming once you have proven you're willing to commit to our cause."

Bunniford pulled the small bag closer to him with reverence. "Thank you, Carlos. I had feared we were alone in this fight."

"No, you are not alone. You are the tip of the spear perhaps, but there are a great many of us that stand behind you, waiting for you to strike," Carlos said.

Bunniford nodded and stood. "I will talk to my people and we'll pick a target. We'll show we're worthy of your support. You know you can always reach me through Anna? She has access to my private floo connection."

Carlos nodded. "Excellent. I look forward to hearing about your successes, my friend."

Bunniford walked from the room and Carlos leaned back in his chair and lit another smoke. _These English,_ he thought, _simple minded and easily led. He'll stir up enough problems here that the new muggle run ministry won't bother getting involved with issues abroad._

The door slipped open and Anna stepped into the room. He owed her some money, but first he intended to sample her wares before he paid her.

**Hatching Chamber, Disko Island Hatching Weyr, December 1st...**

Harry stood in front of the stands and waited while the riders filed into the large cavern. As usual, the riders headed for the stands while the dragons curled up on the sands watching their riders and the Weyrleader.

When they were all assembled, he stepped forward and pulled out a wand that had been painted white. "You'll note this group contains only the wizards. Hagrid is off with the others, giving them extra training in passing jump imagery while we do something different today."

He paused and Chekiath walked into the chamber and came to a stop just behind Harry, he craned his long neck such that his head was just over Harry's shoulder. Harry held up the wand so that all could see it. "Each of you received one of these wands when you came to your Weyr. If you had a wand containing a dragon heartstring, you were told to get rid of it, either by sending it home to your parents or by destroying it. The wands you were given were created by using a dragon scale that had fallen from a growing hatchling, painlessly removed with no harm done to the dragon."

He nodded to the entrance and Sirius joined him. He held in his hand a large, plate sized scale taken from a nearly mature antipodean opaleye dragon. He raised the scale in his hand and said "Lumos," in a clear voice. The scale burst into a blinding light and most of the riders gasped in surprise.

Harry nodded to Sirius who canceled his spell, then he turned back to the riders. "Dragons are inherently magical. The wand you were given is a temporary wand. Later today you will be given a lesson in wand crafting by Albus Dumbledore, who has kindly agreed to teach you how to craft your own wands, using a scale that will come from your own dragon. You will find there will be no better wand for you. It will be as perfect a match as possible thanks to your bond with your dragon."

"Before we get to the issue of wand crafting, I want to touch on magic and your dragon. Generally speaking, a dragon is resistant to magic. Your dragons will resist a spell cast on them by anyone, except you and even then there are limitations to what you can cast. Allow me to demonstrate."

Harry placed a hand against Chekiath's head. "Expecto Patronum!" he said loudly.

Chekiath's eyes twirled with pleasure and the immense dragon burst into blinding light that seemed to pulsate.

Harry released the spell and turned back to the stunned riders.

"_I like it when you do that,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry grinned. "I know you do mate," he replied fondly, then he looked at the riders. "Using the memory of impressing Chekiath, I cast a spell that if I used a wand would have resulted in a corporeal patronus. His scales diffused the magic, spreading it out evenly across his entire body. Because he is not a wand with a definite tip, he could not be used to push out a corporeal patronus, but he still illuminated with the same impact that a corporeal patronus has."

Harry took a step forward and looked at the riders. "I can cast on most dragons with little problem. You will discover you can cast on any dragon besides your own only if you have permission from the dragon or from the dragon's rider."

"And that leads me to a very important distinction. You have all seen how a dragon can control their weight. The dragons have a similar impact on magic, only in reverse. A dragon will allow magic to affect it, but if that magic causes any amount of pain or discomfort, the dragon's inherent resistance will kick in, making the magic ineffective. This is why we have difficultly using magic to heal some forms of injuries. Setting a bone for example is very painful and no amount of pain potion will make it all go away. Even though your dragon knows that setting the bone is necessary and you aren't deliberately trying to hurt him, he will fight against the magic forcing the bones back into position."

Harry looked up at the group of riders until he spotted the two he wanted. "Lobsang, and Kat Matthews, come on down here," he called. Then he sent a silent request to Lokith and Jekrith to join their riders. The two hatchlings stood and walked over to stand next to Chekiath. Harry took one quick look and nearly burst out in laughter. Both hatchlings were tiny, barely the size of a horse, and Chekiath towered over them.

"I can't believe you were once that small," Harry said softly to his dragon.

Chekiath turned his head, his eyes twirling in amusement. _"I was, but I had to grow up big. The Weyrleader's dragon needs to be big. Lokith and Jekrith will be big dragons too, one day."_

Harry walked the pair through casting a lumos on their dragons and watched the riders. He could tell that all of them were planning on trying that just as soon as he released them.

"Spells that you can safely use on your dragon tend to be area effect spells, like warming or lighting. In the case of an injury, you can put a dragon to sleep, but any sufficient pain will be enough for the dragon to overcome the spell. If you're interested in learning what spells we've discovered that you can cast on your dragon, speak with Luna. I know she has a list of them."

He glanced over at the entrance and saw Albus standing, waiting for his cue. "We'll take a ten minute break while the elves set up some tables and chairs and bring in the wand making materials, then Albus Dumbledore will introduce you to wand crafting."

He stepped back and nodded to Albus. All around him elves started popping in bring in what was needed for the class while the riders stood and stretched. They still had a lot of ground to cover, but they were shaping up to be a fine group of riders.

**Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, December 5th...**

"You picked up on the right points about that tape, Harry," Mr Franklin said. "But what did you note about the lead United Nations negotiator at Panmunjom?"

Harry leaned back in his chair and thought about it. His lessons with Lewis Franklin were unlike any sort of class he had ever had. The man arrived, usually armed with a video tape of an reenactment of some key point in history which they would watch together, then he would question Harry about what he had seen. It was different and an enjoyable way to learn.

"Patience," Harry said after a minute. "Assuming the reenactment is accurate, and you claim they all are, then the man had incredible patience. They held talks off and on for three years and it was clear that the lead UN negotiator wanted to pull his hair out at times."

"What does that suggest to you?" asked Lewis. He was pleased with the Weyrleader. At first, he wasn't happy with this particular royal request. He was used to teaching much older students who had already graduated from university. Harry was a child in his opinion, but he quickly understood that he was a child that had access to immense power.

"I suppose the first thing I've noted in most of these tapes is to try not to let your emotions show through. That doesn't mean you can't slip now and then, but generally never let your opponent across the table know you're rattled by his position or his comments."

"Very good, Harry," Lewis said. "Can you think of any time when you let your emotions show and you regretted it?"

"Chapman," Harry murmured.

"Excuse me?"

Harry blinked and smiled. "Gordon Chapman is a rider who seems to like to question my authority. Normally it doesn't bother me, but twice he's pushed me really hard and one time I nearly hit him, he got me that angry."

Harry pointed to a poster on the wall, It was an image of a dragon with a rider on its back. It was clearly reproduced from a newspaper. "Chapman took his dragon out of the Weyr to go shag his girlfriend, resulting in someone snapping that photo. But that wasn't the worst. When we came back from the battle at Balmoral, he started mouthing off about how he would have handled things. His method would have killed half my riders."

Harry frowned and took a deep cleansing breath. In the corner, Chekiath crooned softly and Harry shook from the anger his memory was generating. He looked up at Lewis and smiled weakly. "There are other examples of things I could have handled better, but Chapman seems to be a constant irritant."

"Do you have a plan to resolve these issues?" asked Lewis.

"_Harry is being too hard on himself,"_ Chekiath announced suddenly. He almost never spoke during these classes, but he wasn't going to sit back and let Harry put himself down. _"Harry thinks more before he speaks. Even when Kirteth's rider was speaking without thinking, Harry considered his response carefully before cutting him down."_

Lewis turned to look at Chekiath with a raised eyebrow, then he smiled. "Thank you, Chekiath. You are a powerful advocate for your rider. I am pleased to know he considers his moves. I take it you help him?"

Cheki's eyes twirled in amusement. _"Of course. He is mine. I am his. We help each other."_

Lewis turned back to Harry with a smile. "There is nothing wrong with showing a subordinate your displeasure. Relationships between yourself and your riders are different than the relationship you might have between yourself and the representative of a country.

"That you recognize you could have handled a situation better is not a bad thing, but it's also a very human condition. You're young and still learning and if I understand your advocate, you're considering your moves more. That's an important step and it's reassuring to know you're doing it this early. Many of us don't develop that sort of restraint until much later," Lewis said gently. "I am also comforted by the idea that your dragon can help you moderate a response. In a way, it's an advantage that I can never duplicate."

He glanced down at his watch, then stood. "I'll leave the tape of the Paris peace talks between Vietnam and the United States with you. We'll watch it when I come next week, but do try to sit through it at least once before hand."

Harry nodded and stood. Lewis placed a tape on Harry's desk, then turned and walked from the room. Harry picked up the video tape and placed next to the brand new player that Lord Mills had purchased for him. He only used it to watch the videos Lewis brought over, or the few tapes that have been made by the Weyr.

"_You don't use that machine much do you?"_ Cheki asked.

Harry looked up from the television/player and shrugged. "My relatives never let me watch anything when I was growing up, so I never developed a taste for it. Remus likes the documentaries, but I have better things to do with my time. Why?"

"_Lee and Draco seem to think it's a wonderful thing. I heard Michelle telling May that she had to practically pull him away from the machine. She said he was glued to it, but that can't be right, can it? If he were glued to it wouldn't it stick to him?"_

Harry sat in his chair and started to laugh while Cheki watched. "She didn't mean he was literally glued to the TV, mate. She meant he was spending a lot of time in front of it."

Cheki turned his large head and craned his long neck until his chin was nearly resting on Harry's desk. _"Why didn't she say that, then?"_

"May knew what she meant. It was a way of telling someone something without actually saying the words, while also adding a bit of humor. You know humans sometimes say one thing and mean another," Harry replied.

"_Oh, you mean like when Hermione is feeling frisky? And why does Hermione call it frisky and May just says she's horny? She has no horns. I have horns," _Chekiath said proudly, letting his horned tail extend into the office space.

Harry looked up in surprise. "Do I want to know?" he asked himself.

"_I don't know. Do you want to know? Comaloth says Hermione has all sorts of ways of saying she wants to mate but is afraid to ask you. Trath says you're at the top of May's list. Maybe you should make a list too. That sounds like a smart thing to do. I'd be happy to help you with that."_

Harry paled and stood abruptly. "I think I'll run on down to the clinic and talk to Doctor Sheppard. I'd like to find out how the experiment is going," he said in a strangled voice.

"_It'll be all right, Harry. I'm certain the girls will be happy to mate with you."_ Chekiath said reassuringly.

Harry's stomach clenched with butterflies. They both knew very well that Chekiath could rise for his first mating flight any time this month. And Hermione was still convinced that meditation was the key to this issue, but Harry wasn't so sure anymore.

"I hope so," he muttered as he headed for the door.

"_I'll go to the lounge while you talk to the Healer,"_ Chekiath announced. There were some very handsome females hanging out in the lounge and he could try using Smelly Dog's flirting lessons, since Harry never flirted.

**Main Administration Building, Campbeltown Weyr, December 5th...**

"Harry!"

Harry paused at the open doorway and spotted Lord Mills sitting at his desk. Switching directions he entered the office and took a seat.

"I'm surprised you're here. I would have thought you'd still be at Disko," James said with a smile.

Harry stretched out his legs and relaxed a bit. He liked James a lot and he valued what the man did for the Weyr, while still working hard to represent his country. "I was tempted, but the fact is that Lobsang, Frank and Kat need to start exercising their authority. With me there, everyone looks to me to confirm their orders. I only want people to come to me if it's a national issue or one in which dragons or riders are endangered."

James nodded in agreement. Harry had the right of it. He had to give the new leaders a chance to flex their wings and learn to take charge of their riders.

"So, I came back today. Besides, I had a scheduled class with Lewis," Harry said in conclusion.

"How is that going?"

"Okay, I think. Cheki says I'm not so prone to leap into action, but I don't see it. Maybe I'm just to close to the subject to be objective about it. I can see a lot of what Lewis is talking about and it's caused me to think about a lot of things I've done. I really ran roughshod over Ambassador Poulsen, didn't I?"

James laughed and waved Harry's worries away. "You did, but he confided in me that he was actually grateful for it. Sometimes diplomacy crawls at a snails pace. You pushed him into the deep end of the pool and then jumped in with him. He found that rather refreshing."

Harry looked surprised and a bit relieved, but he realized it was a problem he had to address.

"Maybe it worked out right that time, James, but what about all the other people we'll need to introduce dragons to? I can't do that again and I think we both know it," Harry replied with some heat.

James' mirth died away and he looked over at Harry. "No, lad, you can't do that again, but you're taking the right steps, I believe. Lee is working on that film project you put him on. I know Mariah has been showing him how to use a video camera. Soon you'll have a tape you can use to introduce a group of people to the idea before you introduce them to dragons."

"I hope so," Harry replied. "We're going to have to start opening up the Weyr to other nations soon."

"Yes, the Queen was rather emphatic about it at my meeting with her. She believes the Weyr needs to be taken public soon."

Harry looked up with a bit of alarm and interest. "How soon?"

James smiled reassuringly. "Well, she envisions things happening in stages but I wouldn't be surprised if the Weyr was public enough that come next November the hatching will be televised."

Harry blinked and smiled. "I'm not so sure about televising a hatching, but I could easily see opening the Weyr to some select film crews. I know we taped the hatching this time around, but that was for a very limited group of people. A hatching is a very personal thing, James, and I'm not sure the riders would appreciate their impression being viewed on world wide television.

"No, my primary concern is what reception we'll receive. I think it would be foolish to think that everyone is going to fall in love with dragons."

James looked stunned. "What do you mean?"

Harry leaned back in his chair and explained his first meeting with Jasper Brady and the other American who seemed to resent Harry and the dragons for no real understandable reason. As he spoke, James' frown deepened.

"Going public is going to scare some people, James. I firmly believe that we'll go public here in Campbeltown only after we've implemented some tight security. The other Weyrs are going to have to lag behind us because their dragons will still be too immature and the Weyrs aren't ready. Hell, Maziang has no fence around it like we do or Condron does. They don't have the army helping guard them and I'm not sure if Maziang will ever be a public Weyr. Not unless we can get some assurances from the Chinese to leave them alone."

"And Disko," Harry muttered, then he shook his head.

"Disko?" prompted James.

Harry sighed. "Again, no fence, no guards. What's to stop a boatload of people from landing in the middle of a hatching? Most of the dragons would be in the hatching chamber watching. You know I hadn't really considered this, but as I speak to you about it, the more I think we should keep the location of Disko secret, known only to us, your government and the Danes."

James scowled, then he reached for the phone. "I think I'm going to contact Katherine. Let's get her to come over and we can go over this again. I know we can't do anything about the problems at Maziang and Disko, but she's our security expert."

Harry nodded. "I'll asked Norendrath to tell Sirius to join us. He's been handling the airborne patrol and even with more riders, I don't want to take that away from him. He's been having too much fun at it."

James nodded and punched a three digit number on his phone while Harry's eyes glazed over and he called Sirius in.

**Office of the Director, MLE, Ministry of Magic, December 13th...**

Kingsley stared at Auror Basic Tonks and Senior Auror Wood and scowled thunderously. "Thirteen children injured, some seriously, and a muggle teacher is dead!" he exclaimed. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Chief, that's not fair," protested Wood. "We went to the school like you told us, but we never expected it to be so big!"

Tonks nodded and Shacklebolt sent her a glare that had her cringing back.

He leaned back in his chair and sagged slightly. His inside source had warned him this was going to happen, even told him the date and the place of the attack, and he had screwed it up.

"We were on the other side of the building when the attack happened, chief, By the time we got around to that side, the attacker had apparated away," Wood explained.

Shacklebolt waved him to silence. He was incredibly angry, but in all fairness to Wood and Tonks, he shouldn't be angry with them. He had assigned them to cover a building, thinking that it was a small place. Two aurors were simply not enough to cover a large area.

Now he'd have to live with the consequences, and have to explain it to the Deputy Minister. He wiped a hand across his bald head and absently noted he needed to shave it again. "It's not entirely your fault," he said tiredly. "I sent you there because I knew there was going to be an attack. I thought two should have been able to cover it."

"I should have sent you a message saying we needed more people," Wood admitted. "The only good I can say about this whole mess is that Auror Tonks remembered a lot more of the field first aid than I did. I'm certain she saved some lives today."

Shacklebolt looked over at Tonks and nodded gratefully, "Thank you for that, Tonks," he murmured, then he turned back to Wood. "Go write up your report. I need go talk to my CID counterpart and then we'll have to explain this to the Deputy Minister."

The two aurors nodded and left the room happy to have escaped unscathed from the chief's anger. Mistakes had been made by everyone and children had paid for them in blood. Wood turned to Tonks, "Go start up your report. I want to talk to our on-call healer about some refresher courses in field first aid."

Tonks nodded and turned towards her desk, while Wood walked in the opposite direction. He was determined to make sure this sort of mistake didn't happen on his watch again.

**Main Administration building, Campbeltown Weyr, December 13th...**

With the sole exception of Hagrid and four riders that had volunteered to help him by staying, most of the riders were returning to the Weyr daily to sleep. Each of the riders looked at their first little Weyr cavern with nostalgia, but with the exception of Harry's Weyr, none had been enlarged for the more mature dragons and Harry's Weyr barely fit Chekiath anymore. The large dragon had blasted out more rock to make room, but that had the added effect of destroying the space enlargement charm resulting in Harry's side of the cavern being especially cramped.

Harry hadn't gotten around to having Remus recast the spell and it wasn't really needed. He had returned to Campbeltown days ago and only traveled to Disko for short visits now.

Sirius and Katherine arrived a little late to the meeting and were surprised to see Harry wasn't present.

"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked.

Hermione looked up from the papers on the table and shrugged. "I don't know. He received an owl about two hours ago. He and I had been working on the plans to integrate the new riders into our wings when the owl arrived and he left shortly after that."

Sirius smirked at Hermione and the other riders. "And I suppose no one thought to have your dragons ask where Chekiath and Harry had gone?"

The riders looked embarrassed and everyone else present chuckled at their discomfort.

"_Comaloth, sweetheart, can you bespeak Chekiath and ask where they are? They are supposed to be at a meeting,"_ Hermione sent silently.

"_Chekiath is very angry about something and so is the Weyrleader. He went to a healing place for Wizards. Chekiath says they will be there shortly," _Comaloth replied after a minute. It was impossible to miss the worry in her dragon's voice. Harry rarely got very angry unless a rider had done something very stupid. That Chekiath was angry was even more alarming to them.

Hermione's mood instantly turned serious and she shared a look between the others present, they had all heard Comaloth's comments.

"I wonder what's happening," Remus said softly, then he turned to Sirius. "I haven't heard about anything. Have you?"

Sirius could only shake his head no and then the door to the room opened and Harry walked in. It was obvious he was very angry. He moved to the front of the table and he turned his attention to Karen Khan. "Do you remember William and Connie?" he asked.

Karen nodded slowly, "Weren't they the kids we met outside of Ollivanders back in October?"

Harry nodded. "There was an attack today. Someone decided that they didn't like the fact that the government is insisting on all magical children aged six and above attend school. Mostly they teach the children the basics of reading, writing, and if they are magical, a little magical history. Today, someone took exception to non-magicals teaching wizard children."

He paused and took a deep breath. "I received an owl from William's mum. She was asking if my dragon could come talk to him. He had been badly injured and he wanted to talk to Chekiath. His teacher had been killed. Someone cast an explosive hex through the window of their class. Over a dozen children were hurt."

Harry took a shuddering breath and looked down as he continued to speak. "His mum wrote asking for Chekiath to come, the healers weren't sure he'd make it and he wanted to say goodbye to Cheki."

Harry sat heavily and wiped at his face. "It never changes," he muttered angrily.

"Harry, did he?" Karen asked in a whisper. She hadn't interacted with William like Harry had, but the idea that a small child could have been killed by some uncaring bigot sickened her. That she knew the person, even superficially, made her feel like she was going to throw up.

Harry looked up at her bleakly. "He nearly died, but Chekiath told him he couldn't leave. Cheki said his sister would miss him and he'd never get to ride a dragon if he left. Somehow," he replied, then he took a shuddering breath. "Somehow, he rallied and the healers coaxed him through the crisis. They're pretty certain he'll recover now but it was so close. As it is, he'll have trouble walking for the rest of his life.

"I could hear Chekiath telling him he couldn't leave and hear William telling him how tired he was. Chekiath said he had to stay, that it wasn't his time. All the time Chekiath clung to the outside wall of the building with his head just outside the window where William could see him. I thought the healer was going to have a heart attack when he appeared in the window. We promised him and his sister a ride on a dragon when he gets better.

"This is a disaster. St. Mungos was filled with angry parents and terrified and injured children and I won't be surprised if there isn't a magical student in a single class come tomorrow. This is going to be a big blow to the government and their efforts. They don't have enough people to guard the schools and still provide basic law enforcement," he said, then he sighed heavily. "I didn't want us involved but I'll be damned if I'll let another kid like William get hurt if I can stop it."

Lord Mills leaned forward anxiously. "What are you planning on doing?" he asked worriedly.

Harry shrugged. "It's not like the wizards are filling every school in the country. There are... what? Nine regular schools that are taking in Wizard children, plus the new all wizard school in Hogsmeade?"

"Don't forget the eight Hedge academies and Hogwarts," added Draco.

Harry nodded. "So that makes nineteen total schools. We can easily place two pairs of dragons over each school for the duration of the school day. The dragons should be able to get enough of a warning to do something, even if it means setting someone on fire. Obviously that would be a last resort, but the option is there."

Harry fell silent for a moment, then he turned to Lord Mills. "Arrange to meet with the Prime Minister. Tell him the Weyr will help guard the schools and hopefully prevent this from happening again. Tell him to inform the wizarding public that we'll be there and we'll use lethal force if necessary to safeguard the children."

Harry clenched his fists, then he abruptly stood. "We'll put the rest of this meeting off until tomorrow," he said curtly, then he turned and walked out, leaving a room full of surprised people.

"What is that all about?" Hermione asked. Harry was never that abrupt or that quick to use lethal force unless he was protecting dragons.

"Chekiath is due to take his first mating flight any day now. Sinnath told me that Chekiath has been restraining himself because things were too hectic and Harry didn't need the distraction," Draco replied. "I've watched both of them for the past few days. His dragon is so bronze colored you'd swear he'd ring like a bell if you tapped him. I've also noted that both of them are really on edge. I think in this case, Chekiath is still affecting Harry. Sinnath says Chekiath is irritable and working very hard to control it. Hearing about a child that they know being hurt just pushed them a bit too far today."

"If this keeps up I'm going to have to get a bottle of fire whiskey and get Harry plastered just to get him to calm down," Sirius offered.

Remus turned to admonish Sirius and was surprised to see the man looking very serious. Sirius shrugged. "He's acting almost like James did when Charlus and Dorea were killed."

He looked around at the blank looks and grimaced. "Harry's grandparents were killed when Voldemort rose to power in the seventies. Charlus and Dorea had taken me in when my own family kicked me out. They were the parents that I never had. When they were killed, James hid it from me for two weeks, claiming they were on vacation, but eventually he broke down and told me the truth. Harry right now is acting like his dad did back then. He was hurting so very much and he didn't want me to feel bad so he hid it and suppressed things until it started tearing him apart."

Sirius trailed off and fell silent, reminiscing about what had been. So Remus picked up with the tale. "If I remember rightly, you got James roaring drunk before he broke down and cried."

Sirius smiled sadly. "I did, and I was ever so grateful for your hangover cure. The summer before our seventh year changed everything for us. I don't know what we would have done if it hadn't been for Albus and Minnie stopping by every few days to make sure we were alright. Thankfully, we were both of age, otherwise the ministry would have stepped in.

"When we returned to school, Lily knew instantly that something was terribly wrong with James. She had spent the first six years ignoring him. I think she would have continued to ignore him, but even she couldn't ignore how he had changed when his parents were killed."

Katherine reached out and placed her hand over Sirius'. He glanced over to her and shrugged an apology. It startled him how much an old memory could still hurt. Katherine's gesture of support solidified his own understanding of his feelings for her and he decided it was time to do something about them.

"So what can we do for Harry?" Katherine asked.

"I'm not sure we can do anything," Draco said in reply. "He's not the Potter that he was at the beginning of last year. Last year he'd be yelling and screaming, today he was coldly angry. He's angry and he wants to do something, but his options are limited. He chose the only real one he has. Provide some sort of security for the schools and hope it's enough. I think we all need to also understand that our dragons will affect our behavior."

Hermione dropped her eyes, not wanting to admit to anyone or even herself that the dragons could affect their behavior that much.

Sirius stood and Katherine eyed him with suspicion. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

He grinned. "Relax, I'm not going for fire whiskey. There's a toy maker in Germany that makes some of the best enchanted animal toys. I thought I'd go floo him and see if he has any dragons and maybe some other toys for the children. Being in hospital sucks as an adult, it's got to be worse as a kid."

He gave her a jaunty salute and walked from the room. She stared at his retreating back for a moment longer. "I swear," she muttered. "Sometimes I want to strangle him and then he does something like this."

Everyone chuckled as they rose to go about their business.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, December 15th...**

Harry looked up from his desk when he heard the knock at the door. "Come!" he called.

Lee Jordan opened the door and stuck his head through the opening. "Hey, Harry, how goes?" he said, flashing Harry a brilliant smile.

Harry grinned. "Hey, mate. I take it your here for your weekly pickup."

Lee nodded and stepped into the room. He carried a large bucket with him and a shoulder bag. "I don't think we'll be doing this much longer for you," he said.

Harry glanced over at Cheki, who was lightly dozing in his bed. "Yeah, I guess," he said softly, then he reached into a bin and pulled out a dozen scales. "It seems like only yesterday when he was dropping fifty of these in a week. Now we barely have a dozen."

Harry handed the scales to Lee, who separated three scales and wrote an "H" on them before placing them in his shoulder bag.

Harry looked at him quizzically and Lee grinned sheepishly.

"All right, Lee, why are you separating some of the scales out?"

Lee looked embarrassed and Harry motioned for him to take a chair. Harry waited until he was seated then he sat across from him.

"I'll be the first to say that most of this stuff we're learning is going over my head. I mean, making the video tape is fun and I'm learning a lot, but it's still not really enough. I want to pull my weight," Lee said.

"Have I ever given you the idea that you're not?" Harry asked him curiously.

Lee looked up at Harry in shock. "Merlin no, Harry. I guess it's just that sometimes I feel overwhelmed by things, you know?"

Harry nodded. It was a feeling he could understand very well. "And the scales you're singling out?"

Lee reached into a pocket and pulled out a very short wand that couldn't be more than six inches long. It also didn't look like any wand he had ever seen before. Lee held out the wand towards Harry, grip first and Harry reached to take it.

There was a blinding flash of intense light and all the window's in Harry's bungalow exploded outwards.

Lee looked at Harry in awe. "Merlin, mate, I didn't blow out windows first time I touched that. I just made a bright light."

Harry looked down at the wand. It glowed softly in his hand and had a distinct shimmer to it. It pulsed in his hand, literally vibrating as if it wanted him to cast something. "Where did you get this?"

Lee looked at him proudly. "I made it," he replied.

Harry looked up from the wand in surprise and Lee's grin broadened. "Soranth isn't a big dragon like Cheki, but I took a bunch of his scales and cut them up, then I carefully glued them together. What you hold is a wand that contains no wood at all. It's all core."

Harry flipped on his desk lamp and tilted it so he could examine the wand better. Even under the bright light there was a slight glow to the short wand. It was very rigid and Harry could clearly see the layers of scale and glue. There were at least thirty pieces of scale that had gone into making the wand and providing its one inch diameter. It also looked like it had been carefully sanded down to take off the sharp edges. It felt strange to see a wand that wasn't round like an Ollivander wand.

Harry handed the wand back to Lee with a bit of reluctance. Lee accepted the wand and chuckled. "I don't blame you, but wait til I give you one made from Cheki's scales." He looked around, then laughed. "But you might want to take it from me when you're not indoors."

Harry laughed and nodded. "I look forward to it," he replied. "I wonder if there's a market for these?"

Lee looked shocked. "I don't know. I never thought about it. I was only interested in making them for our magical riders. Do you think there would be any interest?"

"Among the riders, certainly," Harry replied. "As a wand for wizards, I'm not sure. They seem really powerful. Maybe the ministry might be interested for the DMLE, but until you make a few more, we'll never know."

Seeing Lee looking a bit chagrined, he sighed. "Let me guess. You've already made a couple extra and two just happened to find their way to Hogwarts and a certain pair of red heads?"

When Lee moved to protest, Harry held up his hand. "I'm not complaining and I'm not about to chew you out for sending your friends a gift. But let's see if we can get a handle on these before anyone else knows about them. Send Fred and George a note asking to keep the wands hidden and to not reveal their source."

"They would have done that anyway, Harry. The ministry doesn't like wizards having more than one wand. I know Fred and George. They'll only use them for pranks, which will drive the teachers crazy since their regular wands will come up clean when checked," Lee said with a grin.

Harry nodded with a smile. "Good enough. Make up a half dozen or so wands from the extra scales and we'll see what we can do with them. I'll speak to Karen about them, let her know we may have another income source, thanks to you."

Lee looked proud of himself and Harry knew he deserved the praise. As he headed for the door, Harry stopped him again. "Lee?"

He stopped at the door and turned? "Yes?"

"Well done," Harry said with a smile.

Lee's color deepened and he nodded, then he left the room.

**Disko Island Weyr, December 17th...**

Harry came out of Between high over the bowl at Disko and he chuckled. His dragon always seemed to know when he needed a little time to compose himself. He surveyed the bowl below with approval. Most of the tents had been taken down already. In a very short amount of time only three tents would remain, the administration tent and the original two tents set up as dormitories. They were the closest thing to permanent structures that they had at Disko.

The goblins promised decades or more of safety from the volcano, but even they couldn't postpone the inevitable. Someday the volcano would blow and Harry didn't want to waste resources on something that they would lose someday. The Goblin ward on the volcano would provide the Weyr with a seven day advance warning, more than enough time to evacuate the Weyr if it was occupied at the time.

He absently noted that Draco and his wing were lining up the riders below in a neat formation. Soon, the riders would take off for their first long distance jump to Campbeltown Weyr. Each new rider would have to share the jump imagery they had with two Campbeltown riders. Only after the Campbeltown riders approved of the imagery would the new rider get the go ahead to make the jump using their own imagery.

In a sense, this was a final exam for the new riders. Up until this point they have been taking short hops around the island, or longer ones with the jump imagery supplied by an experienced rider.

"Let's land, Cheki. I'm sure we have a lot of eager people who want to get started," Harry ordered.

Chekiath rumbled and then he pitched up and over, folding his wings close to his body as they entered into a steep dive. Harry yelled in surprise and then in happiness at the sheer thrill of the acrobatic maneuver.

Down in the bowl, Michelle looked up and shuddered. "I don't know how he can do that!" she exclaimed.

Draco glanced up and smiled. "He's a bit of a nut case when he's flying. You should have seen him on a broom," he replied, then he glanced around, surprised to see the shocked expressions of the new riders as they watched the Weyrleader and his dragon plummet in what looked like a suicidal dive.

Michelle turned to Draco. "You do know half the time he doesn't bother to connect up his harness? He's setting a bad example."

Draco nodded. "I'll speak to him about it. He isn't doing it intentionally, it's just that he has more flight experience than any of us, including combat flight. He probably finds the harness restricting."

Privately, Draco agreed with Harry. They were restricting and he disliked using it. His dragon, Sinnath, was a Hebridean Black and it was one of the shorter breeds. It was also highly maneuverable in the air, capable of making turns far quicker than any of the larger dragons. Draco enjoyed such high speed agile flights and, like Harry, found the safety harness to be too restricting.

But he wasn't about to tell Michelle that. She and Luna had been instrumental in the creation of the flight harnesses.

Draco turned his attention back to the plunging pair just in time to see Chekiath's wings extend and his dive flatten out. He flew in low, just above the heads of the dragons, then he pulled up and around, circling while he bled off airspeed. Finally, he came in for a gentle landing and Harry dismounted with a practiced flair.

Harry walked over to where Draco and Michelle stood with the other Weyrleaders. As he approached, he pulled off his gloves and helm and grinned at the group.

"You're insane. Has anyone told you that?" asked Kat bluntly.

Harry grinned and shrugged. "I like to fly," he said.

She shook her head and turned to Skip, hoping he'd reinforce her comment.

Unfortunately, Skip had no such idea in mind. "That was incredible!" he exclaimed. "How did you manage to stay on? I would have sworn you were going over three hundred miles an hour!"

Kat looked at him sourly.

"Closer to four hundred. We've clocked the speed of dragons in a dive at nearly double their regular speed and Chekiath is among the fastest of the dragons. As to being blown off, that can't happen. The dragons exert some sort of shield when they have a rider," Michelle explained. "We discovered that measuring wind speed as a way of telling our flying speed was a bad idea. No matter how fast a dragon flies, we only feel a twenty mile an hour breeze."

Skip looked at Michelle incredulously, while Kat looked thoughtful. Harry stepped in, deciding they needed to get the show on the road. There would be plenty of time later to talk about some of the more unusual aspects of dragons.

Harry walked to a spot where all the riders could see him and he grinned at their eager faces. For them, the adventure was about to begin and it would last their entire lives.

"Thirty days ago your lives changed forever," he said in a loud voice, "Thirty days ago you became dragon riders. Now you're half way through your training and you're about to embark on a world wide tour of every Weyr on the planet. Someday, some of you may decide to return to an unoccupied Weyr and start it as a bona fide Weyr with riders. Others will remain in your parent Weyr for the rest of your lives. Either way, your future is wide open to you. As dragon riders, I know you will take control of that future for the benefit of yourself, your dragon and your Weyr. I know you'll be good riders."

He paused and let the dragons translate for Lobsang and his people.

"You have practiced short hops Between. Today, you'll make your first long distance hop to Campbeltown Weyr. First you will take the jump imagery from one of Draco's riders. Then you will pass the imagery on to two other riders from Marty Benson's wing. If the dragons approve of your imagery, you will be able to pass it on to your dragon and make the jump Between."

The riders looked at Harry strangely since only Hagrid and Draco's Wing three were present. He heard Chekiath pass a command to Olaronth. A moment passed in silence, then Wing Two appeared overhead, circling the Weyr.

Harry smirked at the three new Weyrleaders and he made a mental note to take them aside and talk to them about passing commands via their dragons. "Let's get your wings aloft," he said quietly.

The three stared at him and he laughed, then waved them to their dragons. "They are your wings, people. Get them airborne," he said firmly.

Lobsang was the first to move. He turned to his group and shouted something to them, then he trotted over to Jekrith and scrambled up into position. Kat grabbed Skip and pulled them towards their dragons.

Draco turned to Harry with a chuckle. "They didn't expect that."

Harry nodded. "I know but I'm not always going to be there. They have to lead their Weyrs. And yes, I know I didn't use my harness. I'll try to remember it next time," he said, then he grinned at Draco, "Or at least not get caught without it."

Draco chuckled and gave a hand signal to his wing, who had been waiting patiently. They went airborne, joining the wings circling above.

Harry trotted back to Chekiath and climbed up onto his shoulders. He frowned and connected himself to the flying harness, then he motioned for Chekiath to get airborne. "Let's go home, Cheki. We'll meet them as they arrive."

"_Yes, Harry. You know you don't need that thing. I'd never let you fall,"_ replied Cheki. He sounded somewhat affronted that Harry would think he needed the harness.

Harry sighed. "I know, but I have to set an example in front of the new riders. We'll find plenty of time when we don't have others watching to fly without it."

Chekiath popped Between. The riders were on the move and a sense of excitement spread to the dragons around the world. This was the third successful hatching and they were all comforted by it. The Weyrleader was holding to his promise of reuniting dragons and man.

**Weyr Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, December 20th...**

It was after dinner and most of the riders were settling in for an evening of homework and socializing in the hall. The new riders were on their way, escorted by six experienced riders, the adult chaperones and Hagrid. In Campbeltown, things were finally settling back into the routine of classes and participating in various experiments for Sir Robert.

Dan and Emma had returned to Campbeltown, allowing an extra set of parents from Campbeltown to provide chaperone service to the British contingent. Like the riders, Dan and Emma had both grown to consider Campbeltown home.

May walked into the hall and sat heavily in a chair across from Susan and Hermione. Both girls shot her a quizzical look and she tiredly pushed one of her blond locks behind an ear. "We have a very sick dragon in the infirmary. It's taken three of us to provide the care he needs. He'll pull through, but it takes a lot out of us," May explained.

The other girls nodded knowingly. They all pulled their share of Infirmary duty, although only May and three others worked in the infirmary on a regular basis. Everyone present knew they had been extraordinarily lucky so far. They'd never lost a dragon who was sick from an infection, but knew it was only a matter of time.

May cracked open her math textbook, then she looked around. "Where's Harry?"

The girls exchanged a look between them then they turned back to look at May. "I haven't seen him since just before dinner," Hermione admitted with a touch of irritation in her tone. "He said something about feeling a little off and wanted to turn in early. He didn't want to study tonight."

Michelle turned around in her chair and looked at her. "Off? I swear, Hermione, sometimes I wonder how you can easily pretend to not to see what's plainly in front of your nose," she said heatedly. She opened her mouth to speak again when they heard a dragon bellow. It was a common occurrence, one of the non-bonded females was starting a shagging flight. It was a term invented by Lee Jordan and despite the best efforts of people like Sir Robert, the name stuck.

"What do you mean, Michelle?" asked Hermione in annoyance.

"_Enith is flying and Chekiath is covering her,"_ announced Comaloth excitedly. All of the bonded dragons had been waiting for Chekiath to start joining in on the shagging flights. It was a sure sign that their time was near and they were growing up. Enith was a non-bonded female Horntail several years older than Chekiath. She would not have allowed Chekiath to cover her if she hadn't felt he was an adult. As it was, Chekiath had managed to delay his joining in these flights by nearly a month. He had been expected to begin in November.

A silence fell in the hall and multiple eyes turned to watch Hermione. All the girls knew this was a make or break time for her.

Emma sat at a nearby table with Dan watching their daughter with concern. With the Americans and the Tibetan group having adults along, they decided that they weren't needed as chaperones this time around. Emma privately told Harry that she wasn't all that thrilled about a trip around the world in winter. Emma looked up and eyed her daughter for a moment, the confusion was evident on her face. She had had conversations with Hermione about what she would do when Harry's dragon became sexually active.

Hermione had not told her mother about her opinion that they could meditate through the experience. Instead, she had made excuses about being able to handle things. It was quickly becoming clear to Emma that Hermione's plans were not as well thought out as she had made them out to be.

The silence stretched out for several long minutes with Hermione studiously staring at her book and ignoring everyone around her. Several girls stood and moved away from Hermione. It was obvious that she was angering a number of the girls. Hermione might not realize it, but she was clearly telling everyone present that Harry was on his own and she intended to renounce any claim she had on him.

When the girls resettled in their seats, only Emma noticed that one girl had slipped from the room. She sighed and prayed that things would work themselves out but she was sure her daughter had just opted to make her life very difficult.

Hermione buried her nose in her book and tried to ignore the angry glares coming from so many girls. Harry would be fine at meditating through this shagging flight. She was sure of that.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, December 20****th****/21****st****...**

"Petrificus Partialus," whispered a voice.

Harry froze on his bed. He was naked from the waist down and, until he had been spelled, he was trying frantically for a release that he could not achieve alone. It didn't help matters that he had practically rubbed himself bloody.

It was obvious to her that Harry had to be in terrible pain and still the compulsion from his dragon forced him to continue despite that pain.

Harry's arms snapped to his sides as if they were glued.

A wand waved and the lighting dimmed.

"Who's there?" Harry said hoarsely. The bond between him and his dragon was driving him insane and only the fact that his arms were bound tightly to his body prevented him from continuing to try to find some release from the urges flooding through him.

"Shhh," said a voice.

Harry blinked and looked towards the door where a figure stood. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed. "Come closer so I can see you!"

Susan Bones stepped out of the darkness and she cast two healing spells on him and he breathed a sigh of relief, then she turned and started to unbutton her blouse.

"Harry, I know you don't love me," she said softly with a hint of sadness. "But I don't want my first time to be out of my control. The petrificus spell will wear off in a few minutes and you'll be free to move. I know you, Harry. With someone here, willing to be your first, you'll control the lust you feel. You'll be gentle. You won't let what your dragon feels allow you to hurt someone else."

Harry watched her disrobe and he licked his lips. Susan was a very pretty girl with large breasts. Just the sight of her was enough to send the lust raging through his veins.

"Harry, concentrate. Remember who you are," she said gently. "You're strong enough to do this. Come back to yourself and I'll let you have what you want so very much."

His dragon was mating and the feelings of absolute lust ran through him, transmitted from his dragon. Slowly, however, her words sunk in and he understood what she was saying, what she was offering. He wrestled with the feelings from his bond, shoving them to one side and doing his best to ignore them. Once she had managed to get him to understand her, controlling the bond turned out to be very easy. It was only when he was alone and had no one to help him control it that the problem arose.

She undid the button and let her skirt slip to the floor. She slid her panties off and then sat on the edge of the bed. He could feel the heat from her body, and he could see her pleading look. She was scared of him and of her first time.

"Can you do that Harry? Can you control yourself to make love to me? I'm not asking for anything Harry, just make my first time a good one."

Harry reached up with one trembling hand and resisted the urge to paw at her ample breasts. Instead, he opted to caress her cheek. Susan smiled shyly at him, she knew he was imposing his iron will on what he felt from Chekiath. He pulled her gently down into his embrace,

"Lets try to make our first time a good one for both of us," he whispered.

She kissed him lightly on the lips and snuggled down into his arms. They both thought of Hermione for a brief moment, then they pushed her from their thoughts. There were more important things right now. Hermione had made her choice.

It was nearly ten in the morning when Harry woke up for the second time. Susan had woken him at five because she wanted to speak to him. Harry was a bit taken aback by her attitude, but he understood that she wasn't looking for a relationship. She personally felt that he was great guy, but not the guy for her.

After she dropped that little bombshell on him and he had time to think about it, he realized she was probably right. And then to his surprise she asked shyly if they could make love again. He fell asleep around seven in the morning and when he awoke, he was alone again. It was an uncomfortable feeling, being alone again, but they had decided to remain friends who might someday share something special again.

Harry rolled to a sitting position and threw his feet over the edge of the bed.

"_I told you that you'd be more relaxed,"_ Cheki said smugly.

Harry glanced over at his dragon and grinned. Last night had been an awkward experience that got progressively better for both of them as the night went on. And while he hadn't exactly asked her, he desperately hoped that she had enjoyed herself as much as he did. It never occurred to him that her waking him up for a encore performance might be a clue that she did.

"Yeah, I guess you were right," he admitted. He reached out and wandlessly summoned his boxers from the floor, then he pulled them on. "I'll take a quick shower and then we'll go for our jog. I know it's late, but I think for once we can skive off classes."

Harry wasn't in the shower five minutes when Chekiath interrupted him. _"Harry? Ronan is here asking to speak to you."_

Harry scowled. He liked long hot showers. They were a luxury that he didn't have on Privet drive. "Fine. Tell him I'll be out in a few minutes."

A few minutes later he stepped from his bedroom still rubbing his hair with his towel. He looked at Ronan with an expression of concern. "Something tells me you have a problem," he said.

Ronan nodded. "Well, I don't, but I think you may have one. No, strike that, I'm pretty sure you do. Congratulations, by the way."

Harry blinked at Ronan in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Ronan sat on a chair and Harry took a seat on the couch. "This morning in the kitchen hall there was a bit of a dust up between Hermione and Susan."

Harry groaned to himself and Ronan grinned at him.

"I was sitting in the hall having a cup when Hermione entered and literally steamed up to Susan, who was minding her business and just filling her breakfast tray."

"_You slept with Harry last night, didn't you?" Hermione demanded._

_Susan looked at Hermione and frowned. Hermione hadn't done anything to moderate her voice. The whole hall fell silent, watching the two girls. Susan hadn't planned on keeping the fact that she slept with Harry secret, but she didn't have any plans about making an issue out of it either. As far as Susan was concerned, it was a one off thing that she didn't have any plans of repeating._

"_It's not like it's any of your business, Hermione," Susan said calmly. "You made it abundantly clear last night that Harry was a free agent."_

_Hermione scowled thunderously. "I did no such thing. Harry said he was going to meditate through Cheki's mating flight. That's what we decided."_

"_No," Susan countered, "that's what you decided. You made that decision for both of you without asking Harry what he thought about it."_

"_If he couldn't keep it in his pants," Hermione began._

_Susan jumped all over her. "Hermione, stop it this instant. Yes, I slept with Harry last night. When I entered his bedroom he was totally out of control. I had to put him in a body bind, heal him, then talk some sense into him. You could have done that! He wanted his first time to be with you, but you decided to ignore all of the signs, convinced you were right. Well, you know what? You were wrong. Harry and I are not a couple. I wanted my first time to be better than a dragon induced frenzy. Once I managed to calm him down enough, he grabbed control of his bond instead of letting it control him. Before that, he was hurting himself._

"_Face it, Hermione, you lost more than just a boyfriend last night. You lost the respect of a lot of people. You made a decision, forced it on Harry, and then got mad because he can't conform your concept of an idea." Susan said, then she picked up her tray and walked to a table with May and several of the other girls._

_Hermione stood there for a moment longer, then she stormed from the hall with Emma in hot pursuit._

Harry buried his head in his hands. "Oh, man, what a mess."

Ronan gave him an apologetic shrug. "Look, Harry, this is still up in the air. It's the opinion of nearly everyone that the whole 'meditate' business was silly, even you weren't sure about it. With the exception of Hermione, no one thinks you did anything wrong. And on top of that, Susan's comments about a dragon induced frenzy have a lot of people sure that it's better to get it out of the way now, before the dragons rise. Hermione can either accept that it happened or she can be a prig about it."

Harry lifted his face from his hands and he looked at Ronan. "What do you think I should do?"

Ronan leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "I think," he said carefully, like he was weighing each word. "that you should let Hermione make the decision. But I would strongly suggest you don't let her badger you into thinking you're wrong. You did nothing wrong that you need apologize for. There are a lot of people angry with her today, especially when Susan made it clear you were hurting yourself before she went to you."

Harry winced and nodded unhappily. The one fact he couldn't deny was that he had wanted Hermione to be with him for his first time. That fact hurt him more than any other possible problem he might have with her in the near future. That she hadn't been there for him cut as deeply as when she abandoned him to the tournament.

"I think I'll spend the day working on some things in my office," he said finally. He wasn't looking for a fight with Hermione and he wasn't about to start one.

Ronan stood and patted Harry on the shoulder, then he turned and left the room.

Harry glanced over at Cheki. "What a mess, eh?"

"_I was surprised to see Susan here last night. Comaloth told me she isn't happy with her rider now,"_ Chekiath replied.

Harry looked stunned. It was the first time since she impressed that Hermione was called anything but Hermione. He hated to think that she'd now be referred to as Comaloth's rider. It would signal Chekiath's dislike for her.

He was grateful to Susan and the more he sat brooding, the more annoyed he was with Hermione. He had voiced his doubts about meditation on several occasions and she had overridden him each time.

**Hermione's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, December 21st...**

"Hermione?"

Hermione looked up from sitting on her bed. She was very angry and was slowly twisting her pillow beyond recognition. "Mum?"

Emma stepped into her daughter's bedroom and sat in a chair by her desk. "Hermione," she said slowly, "I know you're hurting right now."

"I'm not hurt, I'm angry, very angry, at Harry for what he did."

Emma's mouth snapped shut and she frowned. Her daughter had engaged her single mindedness at full force and there was no escaping it until she calmed down.

"I spoke briefly with Susan because she said some things that had me curious. Harry did try to meditate like you wanted. When that didn't work, he attempted to masturbate to some sort of release. When Susan went to him he had practically rubbed himself bloody and wasn't able to stop. She had to put him in a body bond and then talk to him and help him regain control of himself."

"He should have been able to control himself. He's just like any other boy! All they want is sex!" Hermione spat.

Emma stood and sighed, then she shook her head. "You're impossible to talk to when you're like this. You get it from your father, but fortunately he outgrew it. Come see me if you want to talk after you calm down."

Emma turned and left the room, leaving Hermione staring at the empty doorway. The sound of her front door slamming shut caused her to wince. She hurled her pillow across the room, then flung herself across her bed.

Comaloth watched silently from her corner, deeply unhappy. Her rider was hurting and in her hurt she was hurting others. She closed her eyes and took comfort from the many dragons telling her things would be alright.

**Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, December 21st...**

A tense quiet filled the hall that evening. Harry had been conspicuous in his absence most of the day, while Hermione went about her daily routine of classes and Weyr duties. She hadn't spoken to anyone except in the course of her Weyr duties.

The tension in the Weyr translated into the hall dividing tonight, with the girls on one side and the boys on the other. There was a clear division between them as they tried to figure out what was happening.

The door opened and Harry walked in, looking rather unhappy. Every eye turned to him and he nodded in greeting, then he walked to the front of the large room. He surveyed the riders and the others present and he grinned weakly at them. "I know you're all picked up on what's going on between Hermione and myself. And for that I apologize deeply. It was my intention to never allow any personal issues between riders affect the performance of the Weyr and now my own personal problems have done just that. For that I apologize."

He paused and looked down, then he took a deep breath. "Tomorrow there will be a Wing Leadership meeting at eleven o'clock. I understand that after tomorrow, we'll end classes until January fifth. That includes magical classes, although you can continue working on any special projects. The minibus will be available to take anyone into Campbeltown proper for any Christmas shopping you might have.

"If you have plans to return home for the holidays, please make sure you speak to Sirius before you go. Remember, only your immediate family is to know your whereabouts or your activities. Hopefully next Christmas you'll be able to invite your entire family here to the Weyr. It ought to be interesting to see if we can talk a dragon or two into pulling a sleigh."

Harry grinned at them then he turned, poured himself a hot cup of tea and walked over to sit with Sirius, Katherine, Remus and Mildred.

Sirius looked at him, concerned. "All right there, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No, not really," he said softly. "I'm kicking myself for letting this affect the Weyr. Personally, I'm annoyed and more then just embarrassed. Chekiath assures me there won't be a repeat of last night, which is a relief. As to Hermione..."

He trailed off and looked down at his drink, his expression was decidedly unhappy.

"Harry, I think it took a lot of courage to get up there and apologize for letting your personal life affect your job," Katherine said softly. "I know this hasn't been easy for you and I don't know many superior officers that would have done that."

He looked at Katherine for a moment, then he nodded. He was greatly relieved that Sirius wasn't turning this into a joke. It was painful enough as it is. Perhaps in ten years he'd be able to laugh about this. He turned back to Sirius. "I can't speak from experience, but do you remember the potions class that covered the forbidden potions?"

Sirius blinked and nodded slowly, "Yeah, old man Slughorn talked about them. They were potions that were illegal to make. You'd earn a five year stay in Azkaban if you were caught making one. Why?"

"Because until Susan put me in a body bind, the only description I can give that makes any sense would be I acted like I had been dosed with a weak version of the Lust of Eros," Harry said.

The two non-magical women frowned at Harry, having no clue what he was talking about.

Remus leaned in a little closer. "Are you certain?" he pressed.

Harry flushed. "Of course I'm not certain. I've never taken that potion. What I do know, however, was that the urges were overwhelming until Susan showed up and talked enough to reach me," he said, then he dropped his gaze to his cup refusing to look at any of them.

"I don't understand," Mildred said, "What's the Lust of Eros?"

Remus turned to her. "Think of alcoholic drinks. Some are very weak and you need to drink a lot of them before you even get a buzz, and some are very strong. Even a single drink is enough to get you tipsy, and too much can actually hurt you."

Katherine and Mildred nodded in understanding.

"There are potions that are like that. For example, there are potions which make you want to have sex, but it's a mild feeling. Typically, it's something shared between two willing partners. There are stronger versions which have a stronger effect and they enhance the experience. There are varying degrees of potency and usually the potion is designed for specific effects."

He paused and looked over at the two ladies, who nodded to him. "Harry mentioned one of the forbidden potions. It's a lust potion so strong it can turn a ninety year old vicar into a rampaging rapist. Pairs that have taken the potion together have been known to couple until they collapse and die from exhaustion."

"I was all right once Susan started talking to me. But when I was alone," Harry said, then he trailed into silence and shivered slightly at the memory. He loathed the feeling of being out of control like that.

"Perhaps we should issue calming droughts to the riders?" offered Sirius.

Harry's head shot up and he stared at Sirius in surprise. "That's brilliant! Yes, a simple calming drought would make the effect manageable."

"Are you sure, Harry?" asked Remus worriedly. "That potion would have no effect on someone dosed with the lust of Eros."

Harry waved a hand, dismissing the comment. "I said it was 'like' that potion, not that it was the potion. Just stock in enough potion to give to the riders to help them maintain control for that first flight."

"There you are!"

Harry looked up to see Lord Mills coming towards him. "Is there a problem, James? I know I was unavailable most of today."

James sat down and shook his head. "Problem? No, no problem at all. But I was wondering about something. Sirius and Remus will be out of the Weyr for the next few days. I was wondering if you'd like to come spend a couple days at my place. My son, William, will be home from university and we were planning on a good old fashioned family Christmas."

Harry blinked in surprise and he turned to Sirius, who was suddenly blushing. "Well, Katherine wants me to meet her parents, so we're going spend the holiday with them," Sirius, then he moaned. "I'm so doomed."

"Sirius, knock it off," Katherine said patiently. "My father might be a tough old brigadier, but my Mum will love you."

Harry nodded and turned to Remus, who shrugged.

"I was asked to visit some doctors in the States. They want to run some special tests the day after Christmas. After that, Mildred offered to show me some of the more interesting sights, since we have a dragon helping us move about."

"I'll bet," Sirius said with a nasty laugh.

Mildred blushed, but she didn't deny it either.

Harry leaned a little closer. "Tests? Is everything all right?"

"Relax, Harry," Mildred said. "They asked Remus to come for an MRI because he's the only one of the test subjects not complaining about some of the side effects of the treatment."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He had heard that everyone taking the treatment for Lycanthropy usually had bad headaches on the day following the full moon. All except Remus.

Harry turned to James and smiled. "Thank you for asking. I'd be happy to join you for the holiday. I'll make sure Chekiath eats before we leave. I'd rather he doesn't eat into your livestock anymore."

James grinned. He had hoped he could pull Harry away for a few days of rest. He knew the lad never really experienced a family Christmas before and he hoped he'd be able to give him a taste of what it was like.

**The Granger Bungalow, Campbeltown Weyr, December 25th...**

Emma opened the door and Hermione gave her a weak smile. She had an armload of gifts, but the events of the past week had cast a pall over the holiday. Smiling in return, Emma stepped away so her daughter could enter.

The riders had started talking to Hermione again after Luna pulled the girls to one side and told them point blank that Hermione was family and you don't turn your family into outcasts. Luna also reminded them that by ostracizing Hermione, they were going against Harry's rule of allowing personal feelings to interfere with Weyr operations.

Hermione was grateful that they were talking to her again, but she couldn't put away the hurt she felt every time she looked at Harry. She blamed him for her unhappiness and refused to see that he was just as unhappy by what had happened.

To Emma, it was a typical teen melodrama and something she never suspected her daughter would ever be involved in. Privately, she felt her daughter was wrong and being unfair to Harry, but she had also promised to never interfere.

She watched Hermione place the gifts under their tree, then she turned and smiled when Susan walked in, also carrying an armload of gifts. This was Susan's first Christmas as part of their family and Emma had already warned Hermione to keep a civil tongue in her head. She didn't want this to devolve into a fight between the two girls.

"Just put them under the tree, Susan," Emma said with a broad smile. Dan stepped out of their bedroom and watched the growing pile of gifts and shook his head.

"There are so many gifts the tree is going to have to be moved out of the way," he said. "Happy Christmas, girls."

"Happy Christmas, Daddy," Hermione said, giving him a bit of a smile.

"Happy Christmas... Dad," Susan said. She still stumbled over that. She had been raised by her Auntie and the Grangers told her to call them Mum and Dad, something she had never called anyone before.

Dan walked over and gave each of his girls a kiss and a hug. "Well, another year and another Christmas. Let's hope our next year isn't as hectic, eh? Emma, how about some tea and we'll get around to these gifts."

Emma nodded and started to turn when Dobby appeared with a small pop.

"Dobby?" she exclaimed.

The little elf grinned. "Harry Potter sir asked me to deliver these gifts," he announced, handing her four packages. "And I made these for everyone also."

Dobby proudly handed her a large box. "There is enough for everyone in the family," he said. "I have more gifts to deliver. Happy Christmas!" With a snap of his fingers, he vanished with another pop.

Emma looked at the large box he had handed her. It was badly wrapped and used far too much tape.

Susan started to laugh. Dobby's spoken English had improved noticeably since Harry started coaching him, but he still had problems with his spelling. The box was labeled "to Dann and Emmma Grangur and family".

Dan shrugged. "Open it. I'm curious what he could have made."

Emma pulled the paper off to reveal a box full of socks. Forty socks, to be exact, and no two socks were the same.

"Ohhh!" exclaimed Susan, "Dobby's socks are great. He's charmed them to be warm all the time."

Emma's eyes widened and she carefully separated the socks into four piles. "Warm socks! I don't care if they don't match," she declared. If nothing else, she'd wear them to bed. The Weyr was on a flat, open plain not far from the coast, which meant they always had a stiff breeze. In the winter it added an uncomfortable chill.

Dan reached over to the pile of gifts from Harry and handed one to Susan and Hermione, then he picked up the other two, passing one to Emma. Susan found a small note inside her box which she avidly read.

_Susan,_

_I am sorry that this past week hasn't been easy and I apologize for any difficulty it might cause with your new family. You are a wonderful person and I hope that someday soon you find the person that makes your heart sing. _

_I will always remember your actions with deep affection. Please know that you can call on me for anything you might need._

_Your Friend,_

_Harry_

She smiled after reading that. Harry had accepted the conditions she had put in place without a single argument.

"A love letter?" Hermione asked archly.

"Hermione!" exclaimed Emma angrily.

"Pumpkin," Dan chided disappointingly.

"Hermione," Susan said with a touch of sadness. She held out the note and Hermione took it from her. She scanned it briefly, then reread it. "Now do you believe me? Harry and I are not dating. It was a one time thing."

Hermione handed the note back to Susan, who passed it to Emma.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said softly.

"So am I, Hermione. I'm sorry this came between us, but I don't regret what I did. I am just getting used to having a sister and I would really hate for this to ruin that," Susan said.

"Well, pumpkin?" asked Dan. He was starting to see Susan as a real part of their family and he didn't like the fact that the girls were arguing. It bothered him greatly that the reason boiled down to sex, but he had come to accept the fact that the dragons were affecting the riders. Emma had spoken to Susan about that evening and she had related the details to him. Both of them were appalled by idea that the urge could be so strong that a person would injure themselves.

Hermione heaved a great sigh and she nodded. "I'm sorry, Susan. I've been unfair to you."

Dan and Emma exchanged a glance. Hermione was offering peace with Susan, but there was no mention of Harry. Both knew she blamed Harry for agreeing to sleep with Susan. They thought she was wrong, but Hermione needed to come to that decision on her own.

"How about we get to the rest of these gifts, then?" Dan said, trying to shift the mood.

Susan walked over and hugged Hermione, then she knelt by the tree and pulled out a gift and handed it to Hermione. "From Mum and Dad," she said with a grin.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- Lets start with a note of caution. This chapter signals a major break in Harry/Hermione's relationship. It doesn't signal an open invitation for you to leave a review telling me who you think Harry should be with. I don't care if you want Harry to partner with a sheep, two goats and a cigar smoking midget named Sammy.

Realistically, this isn't a love story. Harry will have a relationship, and I will promise you it will be unlike any you've ever seen in Harry Potter fan fiction. Now having said that, let's grit our teeth because the Hermione show doesn't end with just this chapter.

- DragoonZ left a review telling us that he had a SUGER rush. Sigh... that's it. He is also failing English in school I reckon and I really hope it's the fault of some other country other than mine.

- Sweetgirl23 wants to know what Hogwarts students were in the second impression. The answer to that is none. The children that were found were all too young.

- Rexnos I hope this chapter is personal enough for you. I agree that too much upper level stuff gets impersonal, but sometimes you have to deal with it when the story is this large.

- Jim Red Hawk, I sympathize. Ninety percent of the time that I get a chapter update from a story I'm enjoying, I read the last two chapters. If I published 2K chapters I could summarize in a paragraph or two, but honestly, these chapters run 30 or more pages. There's too much material to summarize. Hence my suggestion, reread the last chapter, then go onto the new one.

- What Doesn't Kill Ya, whoa.. what a name. Anyway Draco will appear now and then. He really doesn't play a major role in this tale and if I wanted to be picky I have a huge cast of characters to deal with. Giving more air time to them isn't easy. As to Ron, he'll be seen a few more times before he fades permanently into the background. I do not want to bash Ron, or the Weasleys, the simple fact is they are Wizards and unimportant to the story, or to Harry at this point.

- Umbrus-Sama wants to know how the Weyrleader selection works in this story. It's real simple. There is a Senior Weyrleader, Harry. And as new Weyrs come online, the senior dragon of that Weyr selects one rider to be the Weyrleader. Harry retains over all control because of his ability to speak to all the dragons. No one knows why Harry can speak to all dragons, Spath thinks that Harry may have an ability that he'll pass to his children and one of them may end up being Weyrleader someday.

- All of Maziang's riders are magical. Unfortunately that won't last long, their pool of available candidates is very small and there are far fewer wizards than there are muggles. Eventually magical riders will be outnumbered by normal riders.

And this chapter's recommendation is a VERY short one shot humor story that really tickled my fancy.

The Birdies by Blizdal.

StoryID: 4748852

Check it out and if you enjoyed it, tell the author so.


	7. Chapter 7

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Alyx stepped onto the stage and looked at the audience tearfully. "I'm afraid I let my concern for Slobnovia get the better of me. While I was trying to raise cash to ease their financial crisis, Bob hacked into my computer, encrypted my story files and altered my story beyond belief. Now Prince Draco is running in for fear for his life from the evil madman Snape, and the White Wizard Harry Potter has encased Draco's who who in diamond and sent it into orbit!"

Alyx sighed heavily. "I fear I'll have to cancel this weeks episode of guess the celebrity who who while I try to beat... er, convince Bob to release the lockout on my Snaco story before it's unrecoverable. To the citizens of Slobnovia, fear not! I SHALL RETURN!"

Alyx struck a pose with a corncob pipe that blew bubbles, it was anything but majestic.

Bob snickered from Alyx's control booth. "This is what happens when you get so caught up in your stories that you don't tell people we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern," he muttered, then he started tapping some keys. "Let's arm Snape with some henchmen in clown suits and give Draco webbed feet like a duck. We'll blame it on a spell gone bad caused by Princess Hermione, leader of the Slobnovian rebellion!"

Bob paused. "Maybe Harry needs a death star," he mused to himself.

* * *

**- One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night.**

**Margret Mead**

**Mills Estate, Isle of Arran, Scotland, December 26th...**

Harry stepped from the porch, his feet making a crunching sound in the light covering of snow. He took a deep breath and looked around. He knew Cheki was nearby, watching him, probably on the roof of the Mills home.

It was an old house, built in the eighteenth century and lovingly maintained. It was also a building that said home more than any other place he had ever visited, even more so than the Burrow. James' wife had added to and improved upon what seven generations of previous Mills had put in place until they had a house that was rich in family history, yet still managed to convey a feeling of welcome and safety.

It was the kind of place that Harry wanted for himself. He had spent several hours, just looking at the house and wondering what he could do to improve his own quarters back at the Weyr. It would be years before he realized that he had achieved the same effect as the Mills home. It would take him years to understand that houses can be built quickly, but homes take time to grow, along with the families that live within them.

He walked away from the house and as he did he could hear the barely audible flutter of wings as Cheki came to land gently next to him. "Good morning, mate," he said with a smile.

"_Good morning, Harry. Did you eat too much yesterday? You were afraid you would."_

Harry smiled and pat his belly. "Everyone eats too much on Christmas, mate. Mrs. McNulty is a fine cook, but today we'll walk some of it off, since we don't have a nice clean runway to take our morning jog."

While Campbeltown was no longer listed as an active runway, it was maintained and all the Weyr knew that any airplane could use it in case of an emergency. For that reason, the runway was routinely plowed to keep it clear in winter. Before the Weyr moved in, it was plowed once a week by a local contractor. Now it was done by some of the military men who helped repair and maintain the Weyr.

"_Did May enjoy her gift?"_

Harry smiled. The McNulty family lived in a house adjoining the Mills house. It had been originally built as servants quarters at the same time as the main house, but had been converted to a one family home and given to the McNulty family around the turn of the century. As a result, the Mills and McNulty families celebrated the holiday together as one big family.

"She did," Harry replied. "I suppose I cheated a bit. I gave everyone the same things, fur lined flying gloves and a scarf, but I'm not very good at picking out gifts."

He didn't mention that the gloves and scarf had been custom ordered and monogrammed with the initials of the owner. For Chekiath he had purchased a copy of a signed dragon art work for his bed at home, along with a book on dragons in mythology that he promised to read to him. Chekiath found the human records of dragons fascinating.

"_I'm sure she'll enjoy it,"_ Chekiath said, then he paused and turned to look at Harry. The huge dragon shimmered slightly in the weak winter sunlight, a sure sign that he was invisible to all but Harry. _"Harry, is Santa real?"_

Harry laughed and shook his head. "No, but most people wish he were, Cheki. He represents an idea, a way of living that most people have forgotten. We exchange gifts and tell our children about Santa and baby Jesus as part of the festive nature of the holiday."

"_So, Santa is one of those made up fun things people do?"_ pressed Chekiath. Harry had explained to him about fiction after he'd told his rider that the dragons were ready and able to search for Gilligan and the Skipper. The dragons were sure they needed rescuing. Strangely enough, they understood fiction as it related to books, but they thought the television was depicting actual events. Rescuing the Robinsons and the Jupiter 9 would be more difficult.

"That's right."

"_What about baby Jesus? I heard that thing you went to with May's family and when you weren't looking at May you were thinking really hard about Jesus. Is he made up to?"_

Harry stopped and stared at his feet. This was a conversation that he had never imagined he'd ever have. He hadn't realized Cheki had listened in when he'd attended midnight services with Lord Mills and May's family. Now he had to try to figure out how to explain something he didn't understand. _How can one be real and the other not, when there was no proof for either?_ Harry thought. The Dursleys had not allowed him any exposure to church when he was growing up, so this was a subject he was unable to really address.

He looked up at Chekiath and smiled. "Honestly, I don't know. A lot of people seem to think he was made up and a lot seem to think he was real. I don't know either way. That was the first Christmas service I've ever attended. It was the first church service for me ever," he admitted.

"_And will you pray to him now? Would he listen if I prayed?"_

Harry shrugged unhappily. He had found the service moving, but it was the only one he had ever attended. There were no services offered at Hogwarts, and considering the Dursleys, he had problems with the idea of an all powerful being that allowed such terrible things to happen in the world.

"I don't know, Cheki," he admitted unhappily. "I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you. I don't have any answers for me either. I think that if he's real, then he would listen to anyone who prayed, even if they were a dragon."

"_May seems to believe and she sings very nicely. She's smart. Maybe she knows the answer?"_

Harry chuckled. "Yes, she does sing very well," he replied. In fact, the Vicar had singled May out as having returned for the holiday from an 'exclusive boarding school' and pointed out how the choir had missed her talents. Harry had been startled by her clear, beautiful voice that rang out in the small church. It was an aspect of May that he hadn't considered before and he wished she'd sing more in the Weyr.

"_I will ask May later. Maybe she can answer both of our questions,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry smiled and softly shook his head. That was bound to be a very interesting conversation.

The pair walked for a while longer and then Chekiath spoke again. _"Harry?"_

"Yes?"

"_Thank you for the gifts. I know they weren't from Santa now, so they must have come from you. I'm sorry I didn't get you something."_

"You're welcome, Cheki. You don't have to get me anything. Just having you in my life is the best gift ever," Harry replied.

Cheki turned his large head to look at Harry again, his eyes twirling with vibrant greens and blues indicating his happiness. Chekiath turned his head slightly and looked over Harry's shoulder. He crooned softly and Harry turned to see May standing there.

Her eyes widened slightly when she heard Chekiath, then she spotted the dragon prints in the snow. She couldn't see him when he didn't want to be spotted. Only Harry could see every dragon.

Harry smiled at her. "Good morning, May." He absently noted that she wore the gloves and scarf he had given her. Her long blond hair was tied back in a simple pony tail and she wore a knitted beret on her head and a heavy winter coat.

"Trath said you were out there having an important talk with Chekiath. I just assumed he was perched on the house."

Harry chuckled. "No, I ate too much yesterday and I really didn't feel like jogging in the snow. Cheki decided to walk along with me."

She crossed her arms and suppressed a shiver. "Well, it is too cold out here for running. Even at Campbeltown you'd be chilled to the bone after your morning jog."

Harry nodded. "True, but a hot shower after my run usually fixes that right up."

She smiled. "I guess it does. Anyway, I came out here to ask you to come back in. My Grandda wants to talk to you some. Since I got him that potion he's been much better and that means he's being right ornery again."

Harry nodded and turned to Cheki. "Why don't you return to the Weyr, Cheki? I know you'd be more comfortable on your heated sands. I'll call if I need you, mate."

"_All right, Harry. Goodbye May. Harry and I think you sing very nicely,"_ Chekiath said, then he launched himself skyward and raised a small blizzard of snow.

"Cheki," Harry growled. It wasn't the first time his dragon had managed to get him with snow. He seemed to think that was nearly as funny as a fart.

Harry pulled out the new wand that Lee had made for him. "Acclaro!" he said, causing the snow to immediately settle to the ground. May stood there, with eyes wide open, she was covered with snow. "Evanesco!"

The snow vanished from May and she looked at him, surprised. She hadn't expected him to do that. Harry followed up the cleaning charm with a quick warming spell. "Thank you," she breathed in relief.

He grinned. "You got lucky. Yesterday morning he smacked a tree with his tail and dumped about ten tons of snow on me. Then the big lunkhead stood here rumbling with laughter. I quickly learned the sequence of spells to put things to rights. As nice as magic is, it won't spell away melting snow you can't aim at with your wand. Especially the stuff that slipped down my back. And I can't cast a cleansing charm on myself."

May chuckled and shook her head. "I'll have to take your word for it. Shall we go talk to Grandda?"

Harry looked at her cautiously. "Am I in trouble?"

Her expression sobered and she tilted her head to one side looking at him. "I don't think so. Should you be?"

"Well, no. I don't think I've managed to piss anyone off recently," he said sourly. They both knew he was referring to Hermione. The one time he had spoken with her had been at the Wing Leaders meeting and she was coldly formal with him. Harry knew Hermione blamed him for what happened between him and Susan and he was surprised by how much that hurt him.

"I don't think he's angry with you, Harry," May said with a reassuring smile, then she held out her hand.

Harry reached out and took it without thinking. The pair walked together back towards the McNulty house and Harry never noticed the small smile of triumph on May's face.

A few minutes later, they were inside the small comfortable kitchen, where May's mother, Rosie, bustled about serving hot chocolate.

Angus McNulty sat across from the pair, who had released their hands before entering the house. He stared intently at Harry and to his surprise the young man calmly accepted his gaze without fidgeting or flinching. Not many were capable of that. A year ago, a different Harry would have flinched away from the stern look.

"Boy," he said with a gravelly voice, "before you came here, the girl had plans which have now been thrown out the window. Now she won't listen and she's going to break tradition by not working for the Mills family."

Harry stared at the man for a moment, then he frowned, matching Angus expression "May will be getting the finest education this country has to offer and should she need it, any other country. She might not work directly for the Mills family and I'll agree it breaks with your family tradition. However, she has the opportunity to become a pioneer in a totally new field of medicine. There is no doubt in my mind that someday she will be teaching hundreds of people to be Weyrhealers."

"Grandda," May said in protest.

"Hush, girl. I'm speaking," snapped Angus.

"No, you're complaining," Harry retorted angrily. He didn't like him ordering May to be quiet like that. "You're complaining about breaking tradition, when in truth, you don't give a damn what your granddaughter wants as long as she does what you think she should do."

Angus' mouth snapped shut and everyone turned to stare at Harry. He was clearly furious. Of all the people present, only May recognized the rumbling sound as his magic reacted to his fury.

"Look at you! Your arthritis is cured, thanks to May, and she's going to get a free education and be part of something that has never happened before in the entire history of the human race. And instead of being grateful for your cure, you're going to complain about it? Every one of the first riders are going to be famous. Every one! But May isn't content to let it go with that. Her work to come up with ways to heal dragons is going to propel her to even greater heights of fame."

When Harry stood, Angus stared up at him as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"Leave my rider be," Harry said intently. "If I ever find out you have been upsetting her, I'll show you what it's like to be dropped from a dragon paw."

Harry turned towards May, who was looking at him incredulously. He gave her a slight nod, then he turned to Rose. "I apologize for upsetting your household, Mrs. McNulty. I think it best that I return to the Weyr, so I fear I will have to miss out on your fine cooking tonight."

Harry gave her a slight bow and then he walked from the kitchen, leaving Rosie dumbfounded. She couldn't recall a time when anyone had torn into Angus like that. What was worse, in her opinion, was that Harry had been right to do what he did. Her father in-law had been getting more surly since May returned from the Weyr for the holiday.

"Dad, what was that all about?" demanded Rosie angrily.

"She's breaking with tradition, thanks to that boy," Angus exclaimed.

"Well, good for her," snapped Rosie. "My daughter will do what she wants to do. Lord Mills seems mighty proud of her and I know Mike and I are. You're the only one who seems to think it's important. The Weyrleader is our guest! Lord Mills says he's been accorded high honors by the Queen herself and you just treated him like something you found under your heel."

Rosie looked at her daughter, noting that the girl wasn't trying to hide the tears sliding slowly down her cheeks. "She went out of her way to find a cure for you and this is how you thank her? You're a daft old fool who's been hitting the bottle too early. Now, get out of my kitchen and don't come back til you've cooled down and sobered up. Sleep with the sheep, for all I care!"

Rosie turned to her daughter, ignoring her father in-law. She placed her hand towel on the table and knelt down. "May, sweetie, dinna listen ta tha' ol' fool. He's been sippin' his whiskey again," she said, her accent heavy as her emotions got the better of her.

Both women ignored Angus as he stood and walked from the room. He _had_ been sipping this morning. It was a habit he had gotten into because it helped with his chronic pain. Now that he no longer had the pain he was finding it a hard habit to break.

"He's going to hate me now," May whispered.

"Grandda? No, tha' man won't hate you once he lays off the bottle," retorted Rosie with a snort. She made a mental note to speak with her husband about getting her father in-law some help.

"No, Harry," May corrected.

Rosie grinned at her daughter. "Him? Didya no hear him? That one jumped to your defense ere any of us. I dinna think he hates ya, lass."

Rosie was relieved to see her daughter act this way. It was the first time she'd shown any interest in a boy since an incident over a year ago where she had been attacked by a local lad. May had seriously injured the boy and he required a stay in hospital. Rosie knew from her own experience growing up that May had a difficult time of it. Harry appeared to be genuinely interested in her, foremost as a friend, and she could see her daughter had plans to change that if she could.

"What, I think, girl, is that you should call that overgrown lizard of yours and go bring him back if he's gone back to the Weyr," she said tartly.

"_I am not a lizard,"_ Trath announced with amusement. Rosie's first encounter with Trath caused her to fall flat on her bum. Ever since, she'd taken to calling Trath a lizard as a form of teasing. _"And the Weyrleader hasn't left yet. He walked out to a tree stump in the field and he's sitting there, trying to calm down, I think."_

May had a flash of Harry and a familiar field. She stood and pulled on her coat. "I know where he is. I'll go talk with him."

"You tell him I expect him for dinner tonight," Rosie said. "Now shoo, I need to make up a list of things I need to pick up at the store today and I can't do it with you moping around."

She laughed as her daughter bolted out the door.

May dashed to a particular field. It was the field where she'd met her very first dragon. Seeing Harry, she slowed down and took a deep breath. He was sitting on the very same stump she once sat on while he levitated a dozen stones around her and told her about dragons.

"Trath said you hadn't left yet. I'm not surprised to find you here," she said, walking up to him.

He looked up, startled, then he glanced around as if seeing his surroundings for the first time. "I didn't want to contact Cheki while I was still angry," he said lamely. "May, I'm so sorry about that back there but I wasn't going to sit there and listen to him complain about you."

"No, Harry," she said, cutting him off. "My grandda is a good man, except when he's been drinking a bit too much. I tried to find a cure for that too, but none of the potion books I looked through said anything about it."

Harry stood and offered her the stump to sit on. He dug a foot into the light snow covering. "Magic can do a lot, but it's not a cure all, I'm afraid. If it were, life would be a lot easier."

May accepted the offered seat and Harry pulled his wand and cast a wide area warming spell.

"It may not cure everything, but a girl can sure appreciate some of the things you can do with it," May said, then she frowned. "Harry, about back there. Don't apologize. I should be apologizing to you. grandda's been a bit of a bother this holiday, but I didn't recognize the signs that he had been hitting the bottle again. And when he tore into you, you fought back, defending me. You did exactly what you've done for every rider, you defended me."

Harry blushed and looked away. "It's my job," he mumbled.

She tilted her head and looked at him for a moment, then decided to do something very impulsive for her. She stood and walked over to him and took his hand in hers, then she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss directly on the lips. "It might be your job, but that doesn't mean I can't thank you," she said, fighting the urge to blush. "Mum says she expects you for dinner tonight, so no excuses."

Harry stared at her and could only nod in astonishment.

She stepped back and smiled impishly at him. "Come on, Harry, let me show you a bit of where I grew up."

May smiled to herself as he let her lead him back to the house. Mum needed to go into town for some things for dinner and she would enjoy the company. And May would enjoy showing Harry around.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, December 27th...**

Hermione trudged into the hall and grabbed a cup of tea before finding a seat. Harry and some of the others were still away from the Weyr and there were no classes, so she was pretty much left alone during the holiday.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

She glanced up and saw Luna standing with her own cup in her hand.

"No, please. Did you have a pleasant holiday? When did you get back?"

Luna sat and smiled brightly. "I got back this morning. Daddy spent the holiday trying to convince Trandieth that she was related to an elephant because they have floppy ears like the dragon wings. I don't think he really believed that, but it was amusing to see them argue about it," Luna replied, then she took a sip of tea. "Well, I hope he didn't believe it."

Hermione chuckled weakly. "At least you enjoyed yourself." She took a deep breath. "Luna, I owe you my thanks. I know you spoke to the others."

Luna waved a hand, brushing away her concerns. "I had to. Some of the girls were very angry at you. I reminded them that we're all family and that our dragons would not allow us to hurt one of our own. Tempers were running high, and while people may not be happy, they have calmed down."

Luna pinned Hermione with her gaze and the brunette squirmed. "I am not going to lecture you, Hermione. You're the type of person who needs to learn a lesson on your own. You made a mistake and people got hurt, including yourself. I know that, in time, you'll figure it out. In the meantime, do your job and don't give anyone else cause to be angry with you."

"Mistake? I'm not the one who slept around!" Hermione countered.

Luna sighed and shook her head. "So much misplaced anger. Listen for once, Hermione. Listen to what people are telling you." She stood up and picked up her cup. "The damage is done and now it just remains to see what can be."

Turning, she walked, leaving Hermione staring after the girl, confused.

**Office of the Director, DMLE, Ministry of Magic, December 29th...**

Kingsley looked up when the hooded man entered his office. "I've been expecting you. Wait here a moment."

He left the office and returned after a few minutes with a man following him. As soon as the door closed, Kingsley turned and sealed the door, then cast several anti-eavesdropping charms.

"This is Benjamin Stokes, representing CID, Magical Branch. He and I both run this department, even if I hold the title of Director. You may reveal yourself to him. He's given a wizard's vow not to reveal any secrets," Kingsley said.

The hooded man looked between Kingsley and Stokes for a moment, then he reluctantly pushed back his hood.

"I know you have no reason to trust me, Mr. Weasley, but I promise you, we will do everything within our power to aid you," Stokes said.

Percy looked unsure of himself. "You're a wizard?" he asked.

Stokes nodded. "Muggle born, but yes. I was working for CID as a Senior Inspector when we got wind of what the Ministry was doing. Thanks to an old injury, I'm unable to do much field work, otherwise I'm sure I would have been tapped for one of the protective details like so many others. Officially, I am a Senior Inspector in the Counter Terrorist Branch of CID. Unofficially, I am CID's official representative and liaison with the old DMLE as we work to merge the two units into one."

Percy nodded slowly, then he turned to Kingsley. He wasn't happy with this new guy getting involved, but he had come to Kingsley and he couldn't exactly back out now.

"Mr. Weasley stumbled onto a group of people several months ago who seemed upset with the way things were changing. At first it seemed that the group was merely a place for people to meet, drink and sit around and complain. To be honest, it was all we expected them to do, since not a single one of them had any criminal record to speak of, other than a few drunk and disorderly charges. All that changed a few weeks ago when Percy told us about how the leader of this group had planned on attacking a school," Kingsley explained to Stokes.

"What the devil happened there, anyway?" asked Percy. He was certain he'd warned Kingsley in time to prevent it!

Kingsley sighed. "I made a mistake, Percy. I sent two Aurors to a school thinking it was like most of our schools, with barely one hundred total students and a tiny building. I never expected it to have eight hundred students in thirty two classrooms. My Aurors were on the wrong side of the building when the attack kicked off."

Percy nodded unhappily. The sheer size of the school shocked him. He had been mostly home schooled before Hogwarts, but he knew that most of the wizarding preschools were very tiny.

"What can you tell us about the group, Mr. Weasley?" asked Stokes.

"It's lead by Tobias Bunniford. He is a moderately wealthy man who owns the Bunniford Confectionery company. Up until the beginning of the month, all we did was sit around and complain, but that changed around December first. Before that, they had sent some dung bombs to the Prophet offices and confunded a bunch of post owls. You know, mostly prank stuff. Then suddenly we started talking about ways to hit back at the muggles. Bunniford claimed that he had found someone from the continent who was willing to supply help in the form of money and potions, as well as help in planning.

"We spoke about the attack on the school, but the attack was supposed to be directed at the teacher and not hurt the children. Bunniford seemed... I don't know. He seemed startled and somewhat frightened afterward. I don't think anyone from our group actually carried out the attack, but I'm not certain. They aren't talking about it."

Stokes frowned and made some notes on a pad. He looked over at Kingsley. "Custom records aren't going to help much. Even if we only look at the magical records, we have records of more than forty different foreign wizards in the country at the time."

"Well, look for it to get worse," Percy said. "Bunniford might have been scared after that attack, but he quickly found his backbone again. He's been trying to talk some of our group into ambushing an Auror patrol in the hopes that they'll be able to get them both if they take them by surprise. And I think they may try a school again, but Bunniford isn't asking us do to that. He says he has friends from the continent that are willing to help."

Stokes and Kingsley exchanged a worried glance when they heard this news. Stokes wasn't about to tell Percy, but the non-magical officers that had been teamed with the Aurors all carried concealed handguns. He made a note to send a warning to the supervisory Inspector of those officers.

"Look, I know what I agreed to, but I'm getting worried that they may insist I take part in one of these attacks. I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want anyone hurt. It's why I got involved in the first place," Percy said uncomfortably.

Stokes held up a hand. "Mr. Weasley, should you feel that your life is in danger, or that you are being pressured into committing a crime, use that portkey I know Kingsley supplied you with. If necessary, we will enroll you in a program where you'll be moved, possibly even out of the country, and given a new identity. Just keep the portkey on you at all times and continue to take your tracer potion."

When Percy stared at him incredulously, Stokes smiled.

"In the meantime, look and listen carefully. Start a diary where you record you events of your day and what happens at these meetings. Try not to leave any details out. The slightest thing might be just the piece of information we need to find out who is helping this group from the continent."

Stokes pulled a small book from his pocket and handed it over to Percy. "This is a copy diary, what you write in it will appear in another book in my possession, so remember that and only write about regular stuff and your meetings. I don't want to see any private information about your personal life, so write about work as a cover and write about what you do for Bunniford. We'll see it all."

Percy nodded and accepted the small book. Recording minute details was something he could easily do. "I'll do that."

Kingsley smiled broadly. "Thank you, Percy. We really do appreciate your help."

Percy stood and pulled up his hood. He nodded to the two men, then waited for Kingsley to cancel the locking charm on the door. Percy double checked his hood, then he slipped from the room.

Stokes turned to Kingsley. "You know that the schools are protected now?"

"I was told that something was being done, but no one ever said exactly what," Kingsley replied.

"The Weyr has posted dragons to protect the schools. The Deputy Minister will probably announce just that to the press in a day or two," Stokes said evenly. He didn't like the idea of relying on dragons, but even CID didn't have enough people to adequately protect the schools. The dragons could sense someone intending to attack and intervene before they did.

"Sweet Merlin," breathed Kingsley, "We need to send a message to the Weyr. We need these people caught, not fried to a cinder."

Stokes nodded thoughtfully. "I'll take care of that. As much as I'd like to see the man who did the last attack burned to a crisp, it would be nice to have someone to ask questions of."

**#10 Downing Street, London, December 29th...**

John Major listened intently while Sir Basil Rathbone explained the Chinese situation to him. Sir Basil was the head of MI5, the security service in charge of protecting all of the United Kingdom's secrets on UK soil.

He stood in front of a map and was using a laser pointer to highlight certain areas.

"We have identified and tagged four total pairs of Chinese nationals. Posing as married couples, each group is moving along the coast in a general northerly direction. We have also identified their controlling officer, who is currently staying in a Chinese embassy owned apartment here in London. Colonel Jin Tan Mu is a member of the Ministry for State Security, special branch. He has been implicated in several purges of Tibet and has been positively identified as the man that lead to the destruction of four thousand Chinese wizards in an enclave not far from Beijing. According to our sources, he is the PRC's top man in searching out and destroying wizards."

Prime Minister Major's phone buzzed and he held up a hand to signal Sir Basil to wait, then he picked up the phone.

"Yes? Please, send him in. He'll need to know about this as well," Major said then he placed the phone back on the cradle. "One moment, Sir Basil."

Sir Basil looked at the Prime Minister with some concern, which changed to confusion when the door opened and Anthony Blair, the current Prime Minister candidate poised to meet Major in the next general elections stepped in.

"Tony, do come in and sit down, please," Sir John said with a smile. He knew that inviting the man here, in the middle of a secret security briefing, would confuse him, but it would soon be clear enough.

"Tony, nothing would please me more than to meet you openly and face off against you in an election, but I'm afraid that isn't going to happen this time," John Major said.

Tony Blair stared at the man and wondered what trick he had up his sleeve.

"You have been told about the dragons," Sir John said and Blair nodded cautiously.

"Her Majesty feels the dragons represent perhaps the single greatest boon to our country since the invention of the sailing ship," Major said softly. "Because of that, she has asked me to make sure that you are fully briefed on what is happening with them, and she has personally requested that I do not allow the upcoming elections to distract me from the issues posed by the dragons, both nationally and internationally."

Blair blinked owlishly at him and Sir Basil dropped his laser pointer in shock. The Prime Minister had just admitted to them that he intended to throw the election at the request of the Queen. And they all knew it was just a request, he didn't have to do it.

Major smiled at their reaction.

"Tony, the simple fact is, I believe the Queen is right. The dragons represent a great boon to our nation. They have the potential to ease our dependency on imported oil and solve many energy related problems, while at the same time posing intense difficulties on the international scene. For example, Sir Basil is here briefing me on a dragon related problem with the Chinese. I asked you here today because I want you to understand the magnitude of what we face, what you'll face, when you replace me."

Tony Blair shook his head and pressed a trembling hand against his temple. "Let me see if I understand this. At the Queen's request, you intend to only provide a token effort in campaigning, while you really deal with the dragons? You intend to throw the election?"

Sir John Major smiled thinly. "Queen and country, Tony. You and I might be on opposite sides of a philosophical coin, but we both believe in Queen and country. This is one of those times when sacrifices need to be made."

"I never thought I would say this," Tony Blair said, "but how can I help?"

John Major smiled at the man who he really didn't like very much, but they were united by a love for their country. "We'll let Sir Basil continue his brief, then you and I will talk about how we can start bringing the dragons into the public eye. The Queen would like to see them as common knowledge no later than the middle of the summer."

Tony Blair winced and nodded. "Of course."

Satisfied, Sir John turned back to Sir Basil. "I hope you don't mind restarting your brief, Sir Basil?"

Sir Basil shook from his shock and nodded. History had been made right before his eyes and he was shaken by what he had witnessed. He took a moment to regain his composure while he retrieved his laser pointer, then he straightened and turned back towards the map.

"As I was saying, as a result of the dragons exposing a PRC agent who was embedded in an American technical mission to the Weyr, the Chinese have sent a large group of agents to our country in an attempt to find out where their agent was exposed and presumably by whom. The man directing their effort is notorious for his dealings with the Chinese wizarding world. We are fairly certain the man, a Colonel Jin Tan Mu, is responsible for the deaths of four thousand Chinese wizards. The fact that he is here suggests that the Chinese suspect magic being involved in some manner.

"Word from station C in Beijing is that he personally ordered an airstrike on a village. The Chinese firebombed the village, killing at least four thousand, probably more. I spoke to our deputy Minister of Magic, trying to understand what station C was telling us. He said, and I quote. 'Wizards can be surprised just like any other person. An airstrike in the middle of the night will catch a wizard unaware just like it would a normal person.'

"Apparently, this Mu is the MSS hatchet man when it comes to wizards. He's ruthless, and if our analysts is right, almost fanatical in his zeal to eradicate wizardry. We're trying to build a psychological profile on him, but details are sketchy at best.

"When we first began our investigation, we tagged eight PRC nationals who were posing as tourists, but recently a new pair has shown up and taken up residence in the town of Campbeltown, not far from the Weyr. We've gained access to their hotel room and discovered they are planning on settling in. They are examining local business that are for sale and we have learned they are applying for immigration. It is obvious that the Weyr is their point of interest, but at this point, we're unsure they know what's there."

Sir Basil paused and looked across at the two men.

"Good brief. Do you have anything else to add?" asked John Major.

"Only this, sir," replied Sir Basil. "Colonel Jin Tan Mu is a very dangerous individual and we're watching him like a hawk. If he moves from the embassy it is unlikely that they will be content to just watch things from afar. The man helped direct an action that killed four thousand men, women and children. He will not hesitate to attack the Weyr if he feels it's a threat to the PRC and if his superiors give him the means to do so."

John Major nodded and Sir Basil quickly packed up his materials and left the room. As soon as the room was empty Major turned to Blair.

"See what we're up against? The dragons represent not only a intelligent species, but a source of economic upheaval that threatens to reshape the world power blocks. We stand to reduce our oil consumption by nearly nineteen percent just from converting power plants. Our carbon emissions will drop by a whopping thirty percent, and I'm told that there are already people looking into developing new methods of mass transit using dragon power. I wouldn't be surprised if we're running modern versions of steam trains someday.

"Tony, we stand on the brink of a golden age, thanks to a new race of beings who want to be our friends and there are a whole bunch of people that would not want that to happen because of the impact it would have on their country."

"My god," whispered Blair. "It's the goose that laid a golden egg, but the world will know we have it."

Major nodded. Both men knew about the childhood nursery rhyme. They also understood that the goose tale had intrinsically understood that the safety of the goose, and its owners, lay in the fact that no one knew about the goose.

"We won't be alone for long. The Yanks will be joining us, and so will a great many other of our allies, including many of our common wealth nations," replied Major. "But to start, people will only know about our Weyr and that there are others in as yet undisclosed countries."

Major peered over his desk towards his guest. "Now then, sir, how would you go about telling your party, and the others, that dragons exist and are semi-autonomous from our government?"

John Major was a realist. He knew that Tony Blair would probably offer many of the same ideas that he had already thought of. But he also knew that working together they could achieve something that neither man could manage alone - cooperation about problems facing their nation that crossed party lines.

**Diagon Alley, January 2nd...**

Auror Atwood Hawthorne nodded to his partner, PC Tony Miles. They were a new partnership, having been together only a few months. Both were wizards, but until recently, Miles had been a muggle born member of the London Metropolitan Police department.

When the government reasserted control over the Ministry, Aurors had been teamed up with someone who had law enforcement experience. This was one of the more successful teams. The pair were from different backgrounds, but despite their difference, they quickly learned to work well together.

Miles nodded affably to Florean Fortescue as they passed his shop. The man had been afraid to reopen until Albus Dumbledore made a personal appeal to him. Since the attack, he couldn't maintain the same hours, but he was welcomed back to Diagon Alley by everyone.

"Gonna rain, I think," Atwood said, looking at the sky.

Miles glanced skyward and nodded. Rain wasn't a problem, even if they were walking a beat. Magic took care of such minor inconveniences and the Alley was warded to keep the rain away during business hours.

"What did you think about today's briefing?" Miles asked.

Hawthorne frowned. "Honestly, I had hoped we had put that business behind us. But at least they warned us."

Miles grunted in agreement, then his eyes narrowed. Three men were approaching them with very serious expressions. His hand slid towards his holster under his jacket and he calmly slipped off the leather band holding the pistol in place.

"Attie," he murmured in warning.

Hawthorne turned his attention away from the sky in time to see the three men pulling their wands. "Down!" he shouted, then he shoved Miles away from him while he dove to the ground in the other direction.

"Reducto!" shouted one of the men.

Hawthorne felt something slam into his shoulder and he spun around before falling to the ground in confusion. Intense, searing pain blossomed in his shoulder and his vision grayed out. Miles rolled with Atwood's shove and he instinctively pulled out his service weapon. The man aiming at him was in the midst of casting, the man's wand tip glowing with green energy. Miles fired two shots in quick succession.

The first shot caught the wizard right in the sternum, then the second tore through his throat. Miles second shot went higher, as he was still recovering from the recoil of the first shot. He sneaked a quick glance at his partner and saw him lying limply on the ground, bleeding from a severe shoulder wound.

A second spell from the man that shot Hawthorne was just as quickly cut off by a spear thrown by one of the goblin guards protecting the front of Gringotts.

Miles quickly changed his aim and fired two more times. His target seemed to stagger but the third man vanished as he used a portkey to escape.

Miles looked around for a moment, bewildered by the cessation of hostilities, then he moved to check his partner. He unclipped a microphone from his shoulder board. "Central, F10, shots fired, officer down. Fifty Two Diagon Alley, dispatch medical units and supervisor," he said desperately, then he reattached the microphone and started to apply first aid to his partner.

There was a moment of silence from the radio, then a two tone alarm silenced the channel. "All units, shot fired, officer down, fifty two Diagon Alley. Units responding acknowledge," said the voice from the walkie talkie.

"Hang in there, Attie, help's coming," he said quietly as he desperately tried to stem the flow of blood from his partner's shoulder.

He knew he should go disarm the attackers, but Hawthorne needed him now. Besides, a pair of goblins armed with spears and axes were standing over them now.

Around the two officers, a crowd began to form. He was grateful to see someone in healer green step up and kneel beside him and even more relieved when he spotted the officers from F9, the other Diagon Alley foot patrol, arriving.

**Office of the Director, MLE, Ministry of Magic, January 3rd...**

Kingsley Shacklebolt exited his office and walked towards the shift ready room where the next group of aurors were assembling before heading off to duty. Normally, a senior auror would give the morning briefing, but today was different.

He entered the room and instantly noted the tenseness in the room. It hung in the air and everyone's expression was grim. Benjamin Stokes followed him in, carrying a stone bowl, which he placed on the desk at the front of the room.

Kingsley stepped up to the front of the room and everyone turned their attention to him. "I know you're all anxious to know, so I will cover it first. Yesterday, unit F10, the Diagon Alley foot patrol, was attacked not far from Fortescue's Ice Cream shop. During the attack, officer Hawthorne was seriously injured and officer Miles was forced to kill a man. A second attacker was killed by a goblin thrown spear from the steps of Gringotts.

"We believe that the third attacker was injured by Miles. CID's forensics unit has been unable to find the bullets, suggesting Miles hit his target and the man still managed to portkey away."

"Now for the good news. Officer Hawthorne is expected to survive. It was touch and go, but the healers are confident he'll pull through. Officer Miles is temporally on desk duty, pending the outcome of the investigation, but we firmly believe this was a clear cut case of self defense."

The news that Hawthorne would pull through brought smiles to the auror's expressions and for the first time in twenty four hours, the atmosphere at the DMLE relaxed a notch.

Kingsley nodded and smiled in return. "Yes, it is good news, but now we have our work cut out for us. First off, F9, F12, and F15 will be canvassing Diagon Alley. Tony didn't manage to get a good look at the third attacker and we're hoping that perhaps you can find a witness who can give a memory of the event."

The six officers involved and nodded grimly.

"If you find someone who witnessed it, contact the office and we'll send someone out to take the memory for review. While Tony didn't get a good look at the missing attacker, he did get a good look at someone rather surprising. Take a close look. Ben, if you will?"

Benjamin Stokes touched a couple of runes on the pensieve and a large image appeared of a man watching the fight from a doorway. He was clearly not involved. Of medium height and build, with a swarthy complexion, he also sported a nasty scar that started over his forehead and crossed down over the eye curving back along his cheek towards his ear.

"This man puts a whole new spin on things, gentleman," Benjamin said, then he tried to hide a smile. He had tried to explain it to Kingsley, but the seasoned Auror hadn't understood what he was trying to tell him.

Kingsley stepped in front of the image. "This is Carlos the Gerbil. His last name is not known," he said seriously. He held up a hand when several of the muggle born officers started to snicker. "I know, there's something about his name that the muggles find funny, but this man is no laughing matter."

That shut everyone up. "We suspect that Carlos works for the Spanish, but no one has ever gotten close enough to prove it. Or if they have, they didn't survived the experience long enough to tell anyone about it. He is implicated in a number of high profile assassinations, as well as being behind at least two terrorist groups on the continent. He is serious business and you are not to approach him alone. We don't know if he was involved in yesterday's attack or not, but we're assuming a connection."

Benjamin Stokes moved to stand next to Kingsley and began passing out photos. "Everyone take one, as it's the best shot we have of Carlos. Study it carefully and be very cautious. If you think you're going up against him, call for backup."

Kingsley waited until everyone had a photo, then he nodded. "Let's get to work. And for Merlin's sake, let's be careful out there."

**Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, January 4th...**

Harry had returned from his visit with Lord Mills and his son more relaxed and rested than he had been in months. Again Lord Mills had given him a suit tailored to fit him as a Christmas gift. It was the second suit Lord Mills had given him and he was glad to get it. His last suit was getting uncomfortably tight.

He had been pleasantly surprised to discover that James' son was a very nice young man. He was studying at university at the moment and hoped to join the Navy after he graduated, just like his father and grandfather before him. William intended to follow in his father's footsteps.

The other nice thing about spending the days with Lord Mills was that he'd managed to escape the atmosphere of the Weyr. Things had settled back to mostly normal since his fight with Hermione, but he was painfully aware of her presence and it made him uncomfortable and unhappy. While they were capable of working together to handle Weyr duties, it was a coldly formal relationship. Deep down it hurt Harry terribly and even with May doing her best to divert his attention, it still gnawed at him.

Harry glanced up at the wall clock, then he stood and picked up a small shoe box and walked from the room.

"_Cheki, I'll be meeting with some friends in the social hall. I'd like you to listen in from the roof,"_ Harry sent silently.

"_Of course, Harry. I wasn't doing anything much, but I think I'll fly Enith later tonight,"_ Chekiath replied.

Harry grinned. _"Thanks for the heads up. I'll get a calming drought from Remus and see if this time it's easier."_

"_Harry?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Will you make up with Comaloth's rider anytime soon?"_

Harry paused and sighed heavily. _"I don't know, "_ he replied, then he bowed his head. Hermione's break with him hurt deeply and it really bothered him.

"_I'm sorry for bringing it up, Harry. I know how unhappy you are, and how unhappy Comaloth is."_

"_I don't think it's up to me, Cheki. I didn't want this to happen."_

"_Don't be sad, Harry. Would you like me to send May to you? I'm sure she'd be happy to help you."_

Harry blinked and shook his head. His dragon was trying to get him laid again! _"Erm, no, that's all right, mate. I think I would prefer that happen all by itself if it ever does."_

"_All right, Harry,"_ Chekiath replied, then he widened his connection to his rider and sent him feelings of love that brought a smile to the young man's face.

Harry shook his head and opened the door to the social hall. He paused by the door and flipped a switch that lit up a sign announcing the hall was in use for Weyr business. Roughly twice a month, the Weyr Council met in the building and Harry always held one open Wing Leader meeting every month in the hall. The sign warned everyone that they could enter, but there might be a meeting in progress and they would need to be quiet.

Harry stepped up to the long table at the front of the room and placed his box on it. He looked up and smiled when Lee stepped in, followed by Mariah, who had been helping him with the video project.

The door opened again and more people filed into the room. When he called for a combination council, Wing Leader meeting, more people came forward requesting to attend. As a result he had his Wing Leaders, and his Weyr council and a number of others present. In addition, a number of riders sensing this would be a different meeting quietly filed in and filled tables to the rear of the hall.

Harry smiled at everyone before he began. "Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday as much as I did. I must admit it was my intention for a small group this morning, but as word of the meeting spread, others asked to attend. I can only assume that Mr. Croaker has information for us?"

Croaker nodded.

"Very well. I'm going to ask you to wait for now. Hopefully the rest of this will go quickly. Albus? I see you hiding back there with Mr. Ollivander. Would you both come forward, please?"

Harry waited until the two men were standing beside him. "Lee Jordan has managed to produce something which I have never heard of before."

He flicked his wrist and his new wand extended from his holster. The wand shone with an obvious glimmer all its own. Harry had determined that the glow actually came from the wizard or witch holding the wand. When he handed the wand to Katherine, it hadn't glowed at all.

Harry held up the unusual looking wand. It was nearly nine inches long and roughly an inch in diameter.

Ollivander's bushy eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline and his fingers twitched to get his hands on it.

"Lee Jordan came to me before the holidays and told me about a little project he was involved in beyond his usual Weyr duties," Harry said calmly, then he glanced over at Lee and grinned. "He told me he felt he wasn't really contributing to the Weyr enough and he thought of his idea as a way of helping us out even more. I assured him that I have no problems with his efforts, and I want to stress to everyone that if you feel that way, come see me and we'll figure out something."

He looked around and saw his riders nodding in understanding. Satisfied, he held up his glowing wand for everyone to see. "Lee crafted a wand unlike any other. By slicing several of Chekiath's scales and stacking them, he created a layered stack of scale pieces, which he glued together. The result is a wand that is all core, no wood at all, and it's the most powerful wand I have ever held."

Harry glanced at the old wand maker. "My apologies Mr. Ollivander, but this wand, made from the scales of my dragon, is far more powerful that even my phoenix feather wand."

Albus chuckled, but like Ollivander, his eyes were fixed on the glowing wand in Harry's hand.

Harry glanced over at Ollivander, who was practically hopping from one foot to the other with excitement. "Mr. Ollivander, you're the leading expert in wands and their crafting in the United Kingdom. I have asked you to visit the Weyr today to examine these wands. We're interested in knowing what kind of commercial value they might have. But before you pick one up, I would caution you. The rush is overwhelming. When I picked up Lee's wand, I blew out every window in my house. I was more careful picking up the wand made from my dragon's scales and I still knocked down a two hundred year old tree."

Harry picked up the shoebox and handed it to Ollivander. "Inside, you'll find eight wands that I thought you and Albus might look over. These wands are very powerful and I actually wonder if they should be limited to Aurors and Hit Wizards only."

Ollivander and Albus exchanged an interested look.

"I promise you, Mr. Potter, I shall give it my utmost care while I examine them. Might I borrow young Mister Jordan to explain his crafting process?" asked Garrick Ollivander.

"After this meeting, sir," Harry replied after glancing at Lee and getting his nod. "But I still need him for a bit longer."

Ollivander nodded and he pried open the box and looked inside. He found eight wands ranging in size from five inches to nearly ten. "How curious," he muttered. "These don't glimmer like yours."

Harry smiled. "The glow comes from the wizard's own magic. It's a response of the wand to being held by a magical human. They will noticeably glow when you pick one up."

Satisfied with the answer, Ollivander and Albus returned to their seats. Both men were holding an intense, private conversation over the precious box of wands.

"Karen," Harry called.

"Yes?"

"Please make sure you keep in the loop with Mr. Ollivander and Lee. I don't know if Lee plans on making them or just selling the idea, but stay on top of it for us please." he replied.

Karen nodded and quickly typed something in her notebook computer. Lord Mills had gotten her the machine before the hatching so she could continue working even while at Disko Island. Now she carried it around like Harry carried his list of things to do.

"I also understand that Lee has the first cut of a video that has been edited by the folks at the Prime Minister's office. Originally, I was going to view the video first, but he has asked that we have a general viewing of the video tonight after dinner in the Kitchen Hall."

Harry grinned broadly at Lee. "In all fairness to Lee, let's hold any comments about seeing his mug on the telly to a minimum."

"Hey!" protested Lee with a laugh.

Everyone laughed and Harry made a mark in his book, then straightened. "Next order of business. Wing leaders, I need to you consider who from your wing would be suitable for promotion. When our new riders return from their trip in a few weeks, we'll be reforming the three wings and adding a fourth that will need a leader and a second. I'm willing to accept a second from the batch of new riders, but I want a seasoned rider as lead. Think about it and submit your suggestion by the end of this week."

"Speaking of the new riders, sometime around the eighteenth of this month, they'll come home after completing their Weyr tour. I've posted a notice outside my office where you can request shifting to another wing if you want. Wing leaders, make sure you schedule enough time for flight drills with the enlarged wings. I don't want any accidents because someone turned the wrong direction."

Ronan blushed and several people chuckled at his reaction. It was easy to laugh at now, but at the time it nearly killed Michelle and had injured Harry.

"Susan? How is our housing situation?" Harry asked.

Susan gave Harry a warm smile. "We're really well set now. The elves have been busy repairing and refitting all of the houses. I had them spend extra time on the immediate need. According to Dobby, the last five homes still need to be fitted with dragon doors. I'm positive they'll be ready in time. As to furnishings?" she shrugged. "It's just the basics - a double bed, dresser, some chairs, an inexpensive couch, some linens and blankets. Anything beyond that will have to be done by the rider. Same goes for the color scheme. The interiors are basic white.

"At some point though, we're going to need to do something like a muggle style apartment house with room for dragons. We simply don't have enough houses to support five hundred riders and their families like you envision," Susan said in conclusion.

Harry nodded. It was an issue he was aware of and it was on his list of things to do. He noticed James waving at him. "James?"

"In regard to the housing and other expenditures, I have been informed by Sir Robert that at the end of this month he will begin a series of tests requiring the services of at least twenty dragons. If I understand rightly, they'll be creating a series of heated rock slabs that will then be assembled into modular heat source chambers for the test power station.

"The plan calls for a number of different materials to be tested, so they'll be making a large number of heat chambers to test before installing one into the power station design."

"Harry," Remus said from the back of the room, "this will result in a large increase in revenue for the Weyr. It's still no where near the full potential, but Sir Robert and I have worked out a formula for computing the cost of the hot rocks that's fair to both us and the government."

Harry looked very pleased at that, then he turned back to Lord Mills. "I'll see about setting a schedule so every bonded dragon participates. I would like to see each dragon/rider pair receiving some money based on their contribution. And perhaps also some of the money going into an education and housing fund?"

James smiled and gave Harry a thumbs up. "I can set that up. I'll get together with Karen once I have firmer numbers and we'll get it organized."

"Thank you, James," Harry replied.

He made another check in his book then he looked up. "Lee, assuming your video is good enough, the next thing to do is prepare an area to view the video. Figure something capable of fitting up to one hundred people, maybe more. Parliament has a large number of people in it."

Mariah's head popped up and she waved at Harry. "Mariah?"

"Ideally, Harry, what you want is something like a small theater, correct?"

"That's right."

"So we have a bunch of buildings still unoccupied. Why not have the elves gut one of them and have one of you wizards work your mojo on the inside, making it big enough?" she asked.

Harry sighed and quietly conjured a stool then he sat down. "All right, it's time we get a few facts straight. Probably around the end of this month, I hope we'll be able to show our video to a bunch of members of Parliament. Following the video, we will host a function for our guests where they will be able to meet and interact with the dragons. Even if we managed to cram one hundred and fifty members of Parliament in to watch Lee's movie, it's still going to take a number of days to expose everyone to dragons.

"We will be revealing dragons to the world this year, but we won't and can't reveal the existence of magic. As good as your idea is Mariah, we just can't do it."

Croaker looked up from his seat and nodded in approval.

"On the days when we'll be introducing dragons, our elves will be asked to stay invisible. Our dragons will have been carefully coached to not mention magic or their magical abilities. I'm afraid a space enhanced theater inside a small home would scream something weird is going on," Harry said quietly to Mariah, then he turned to the others.

"Sir Robert will explain the dragon hot rocks as a function of an as yet unidentified ability of the dragons. It will be chalked up to physics that the scientists don't understand and it won't be explained beyond that.

"The origin of the dragons; that they have been developed by men on another world will not be mentioned at all. It won't hurt the world to think they are a natural species that evolved on another planet and frankly considering the amount of time they have had to develop beyond their original design, they might as well be. Their ability to go Between is being investigated, so we don't need to keep that secret. But lord help the rider who mentions anything about time travel because I'll have you shoveling dragon dung for the rest of your life.

"The dragons have a number of unique abilities that will keep scientists busy for years to come. So we can safely say that Sir Robert and his team are investigating it and right now we have no explanation for it. As for why the dragons are becoming known only now, the Prime Minister's office will make a statement about me stumbling across Chekiath's egg at a critical moment and that was the key to bringing dragon intelligence to an equal level with people. No mention of Pern will be made publicly. The bond between rider and dragon will be because the dragons are naturally telepathic through the bond with their riders. Any telepathic abilities a dragon has with a non-rider is one way, in that the dragon can talk to a human, but not hear that human's thought. We need to be clear on that, so as not to alarm the general population."

"_You being at my hatching was a critical moment,"_ Chekiath offered from the roof.

Harry and the riders chuckled. "Yes, it was," he said in agreement.

Harry's mood turned somber, and they all noticed how serious he was taking these issues. "We all know how hard I pushed for recognition and some amount of autonomy. The simple fact is that while we are somewhat autonomous, we are under the protection of Her Majesty and her government. The Queen rightly wishes to tell her government, and eventually her subjects, about dragons, about us. But this move is not without risks to ourselves and our dragons.

"I want you all to understand something very important here. There are going to be people that love dragons, and by virtue of our association with them, love us. And there are going to be people that hate us because it is easier to hate something than it is to take the time to understand something new. Before the Weyr becomes public knowledge, our security is going to see a massive build up.

"Major Atkins informs me that the guard force will be replaced with regular army and the fence around the Weyr will be upgraded with state of the art machines to monitor the fence line twenty four hours a day. Normally we only have a mounted patrol during the weekends or at night, but that will change so that there are always riders in our skies."

Harry paused and looked at Katherine directly. "Katherine, I know that I was somehow involved in your promotion and you disliked that. I can't blame you, but at the same time, I am uneasy with the prospect of losing you when your unit is transferred."

Katherine smiled. "You can relax, Harry," she said. "I have been told that the base security will remain under my command. The additional troops will bolster our forces should we need them. I have been informed that the Ministry intends to enlarge the area surrounding the research center to include the newly formed combined brigade. We'll have the British Army right next door if we need them and my command will be placed on the central command net so that I can send out an alert if need be."

Harry nodded in relief, then he turned back to the others. "Getting back to the issue of secrecy. Disko Island will remain secret, known only to our riders and to certain governments. Maziang will also remain secret, since we lack a friendly government to protect them in Tibet. That situation may change, but right now the Chinese government doesn't know about us and my primary concern is to protect Maziang and their dragons.

"Condron will probably become public knowledge sometime next year, after the Yanks have managed to beef up its security, but at the time when we announce ourselves to the world, Campbeltown will be the only known Weyr. For at least a year we will be the only known Weyr in the world. Expect lots of world press clamoring for interviews and tours. Expect a lot of publicity and expect a lot of questions and animosity."

Harry took a breath and looked around the room at the sea of somber and frightened faces that confronted him. He chuckled and shook his head. "I know it's daunting, but consider also that we'll be going back to places like Happy Smiles in Leicester to spend a day with the children. I don't want you to be afraid to stick your nose out of the Weyr, but you have to understand. Some people are going to welcome us with open arms and others are going to be terrified and still others will hate us.

"My plan is to prepare for the worst case and just try our best to show people that we mean them no harm," he said in conclusion.

Harry looked back at Mariah. "Getting back to your question, I wish we could, but it's just not something we're allowed to do. Magic is not our secret to reveal."

Mariah nodded and leaned back in her chair. "So, we need to either build a theater or somehow convert a building we have into one," she mused.

Harry looked at her with interest. "Are you wanting to tackle it?" he asked.

Mariah looked startled, then she nodded. "I'll give it a shot. Just one question. Is it still okay for to use the elves to build things?"

"As long as the building isn't obviously magical, then yes," replied Harry.

Mariah nodded and Harry turned to the next item to deal with. "Mr. Croaker, did you have something for us?"

Croaker stood and looked around before speaking. "I have been asked by Sir William to tender our thanks for posting dragons at the schools. We have been working hard to develop information on the people behind the attack and we have been somewhat successful in that regard. But we still lack the people needed to provide adequate protection to all of the schools.

"I also need to pass along a request by our DMLE and CID to remind you that we need people to question, not burnt bodies. If the dragons spot someone planning on attacking, can they refrain from killing unless absolutely necessary?"

Croaker looked at Harry expectantly and Harry just smiled back. _"I have passed along the orders, Harry,"_ Chekiath announced. _"Capture if we can."_

Croaker looked shocked and Albus started to laugh. "Chekiath is the Weyrleader's dragon, my friend. He's perfectly capable of ordering the dragons to capture without Harry having to tell him."

Harry pointed his finger up and Croaker suddenly understood. The largest dragon in the world was sitting on the roof of this flimsy wooden building. He suddenly swallowed nervously and several of the riders chuckled at his discomfort. The dragons had this impact on people and they had seen this reaction on multiple occasions. It was still amusing, however.

Croaker nodded warily and pulled his eyes from the ceiling. "Despite what the DMLE and CID want, please warn your dragons that we are dealing with highly dangerous and unpredictable people. If our information is correct, we're dealing with a politically based terrorist group that's being directed by Spain. One of our aurors has spotted Carlos the Gerbil on Diagon alley. He was positively identified while watching an attack on our Aurors two days ago. We don't know if he was involved or not, but an auror nearly died and two of the attackers were killed. The two dead attackers remain unidentified, but we think they may be from the continent."

Croaker paused and frowned, then he turned to Dan and Emma Granger, who were laughing themselves silly. "I fail to see what is so amusing. Carlos the Gerbil is suspected of being one of Spain's leading undercover assassins."

He trailed off. Dan and Emma weren't the only ones laughing in the room. Many of the older muggles and even some of the non-magical riders were laughing as well.

Dan glanced at Emma, who was barely hanging onto her seat, and he tried to force the laughter down. "Wait, no. I mean. Hells bells," he stammered, then he coughed a few times. "I meant no insult, Mr. Croaker, but your fearsome hit wizard is either totally inept at normal history or he's a certified whacko. It's possible he decided to steal the name from a world famous terrorist who was wreaking havoc in the early seventies, but if so, he got the name totally wrong. Just whispering the name of Carlos the Jackal was enough to send governments quivering in terror, but Carlos the Gerbil? The man has taken the name of a small Australian rodent that many people have as a pet. A gerbil is about as dangerous as being attacked by a marshmallow."

Croaker looked around and noted that all of the muggles in the room were nodding to him. He scratched his head and thought about it. "Perhaps we can use this," he mused. He looked up and over to Dan who was grinning at him. "Can you provide me with some information on this Carlos the Jackal?"

Dan nodded. "I can, if you give me a few days."

"I can get you a file on him also," Katherine Atkins offered with a smile. "I don't mean to downplay how dangerous the man is, but the name Carlos the Gerbil is just too funny."

Lord Mills turned in his seat to look at Croaker. "Why are the Spanish suddenly playing in our backyard?"

Croaker scratched at his beard. "We're not entirely sure and probably won't know until we've caught someone that can give us the answers. Spain has been working behind the scenes to ferment unrest in the Mediterranean region for a while now. Our first clue was their assembling a force similar to the WDF, but far larger. Then they surprised everyone by not using it.

"I can't prove it, but I suspect that they have been involved in fanning the flames between Italy and Greece. As to Carlos, we've always suspected him of working for Spain, but we've never been able to prove it."

Harry coughed lightly and everyone turned back to him. "Thank you for your information, Mr. Croaker. I'll see that the dragons are especially careful should anyone try a repeat attack on the schools.

"Wing Leaders, don't forget to submit your names to me before the weekend. And everyone stick around after dinner and we'll watch Lee's home movie," he announced with a grin, then he turned and started to pack up his notes.

Sensing the end of the meeting, everyone stood and started filing for the exit.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, January 4th...**

Minerva McGonagall stood and faced the assembled students. The students had returned from holiday and after their ride on the Express, they were just finishing up their dinner. A hush fell on the large body of students and she gave them a thin smile.

"Welcome back. I hope you are all sufficiently rested and ready to start a new year," she said, then she reached out with a hand and touched the shoulder of the person sitting next to her. "You should recognize Mrs. Edna Early from the Hogsmeade school. You saw her several times during the course of your testing last month. Mrs. Early is here with information that we all need because starting this term we shall be sending you to the Hogsmeade school to continue your normal education."

Mrs. Early stood and with a nod from Minerva she turned to the students and smiled broadly. "When we were first tasked with placing you Hogwarts students we were afraid we would find students woefully unprepared to enter schooling appropriate to their age group.

"As a group, you rallied and organized study sessions. Because of that, I am very proud to say that a majority of students tested into their appropriate age group and will be placed properly. You managed to achieve an impressive feat, despite starting late, and each and every one of you should be very proud. A small number of you didn't make the grade in one subject and we'll be arranging for extra tutoring for you.

"Tomorrow morning at breakfast, you will receive your placement and your supplies for this term. Three days a week, you will leave Hogwarts after lunch and travel via carriage to our school for classes. I know you'll take advantage of this opportunity and make the very best of it."

Mrs. Early sat down and Minerva glanced at her, then she looked at her students. "I, too, would like to express my pride in your achievement. When you learned about the testing, you rallied together and broke house boundaries to study for the examinations. I hope in doing so you learned that people in the other houses are no different than your own house," she said. With a nod of her head, the tables were cleared off by the house elves. "Off you go, and lets hope this coming term will be filled with new and exciting things."

As the students filed from the room, Minerva sat down on her chair and shook her head. "Dumbledore always made this look so easy," she muttered.

"I don't know how you manage it, Minerva," replied Mrs. Early. "A boarding school seems terribly difficult on the teachers who never go off duty."

"Hogwarts is over a thousand years old, Edna. A boarding school was the only way to handle things back then. A child traveling by magic means was likely to be captured and killed by the peasants. As it was, it wasn't uncommon for some students to disappear in the course of trip. That's why the Express was invented, to give our students a safe journey that looked very normal," Minerva replied.

"I would like to think we've moved beyond that point in our history, but people are people," Edna said. "Hopefully someday wizards will be able to mix openly. Now, shall we go to your office and discuss the four that failed their exams?"

Minerva frowned and nodded. Four students had failed miserably in their exams and she knew it was a deliberate failure and not because of any lack of intelligence. The students were from Death Eater families and if she could find cause she would have expelled them. Unfortunately, she didn't have cause. All four skirted the edges but never caused enough disruption to earn such an action.

Those four had no idea what they were up against. They would be given one final chance to take the test and if they failed that, she would have grounds to expel them for poor academic performance.

There had been other students that hadn't achieved their best, but usually it was only one area where the child was showing a weakness and that could be overcome with proper tutoring. One student surprised her complete. Ron Weasley managed to achieve passing grades when she had been certain he wouldn't. She later found out that the threat of the loss of his magical education was enough to motivate him like nothing else ever had. Minerva didn't care what motivated the boy as long as it worked. She was just thankful that he believed her warning. All of the other Weasley children pulled good marks, so she was certain Ron was capable of it too.

"Edna, if you don't mind, I think I would also like to spend a little time at your school watching how your teachers work. I'm sure there are techniques we could use that your teachers probably consider old fashioned these days. I teach in the same manner as I was taught, and my teacher learned from his old mentor. I know there must be room for improvement."

Edna Early smiled, gratified that Minerva was willing to work so easily with her and even more pleased to learn she wanted to see how they handled things. "We'd love to have you, Minerva," she said happily.

**ICW Headquarters, Paris, France, January 10th...**

Harry finally got his tie right and he reached for his jacket and put it on, then he looked in the mirror. Albus Dumbledore had requested that he accompany him today for the 1996 opening session of the general assembly of the ICW.

He'd been reluctant to accompany him, but Albus had impressed upon Harry the need for him to start reaching out to some of the other magical ministries. And they also had to deal with his formal introduction to the ICW. It was a tradition that Harry only very reluctantly agreed to. As far as he was concerned, the meeting with the fifteen allied representatives scheduled for after the general assembly was more important than the general assembly.

Harry learned that Jasper Brady would be there representing the Department of Magic for the United States. He had been traveling with the riders, but had decided to return early so that he could help pave the way for Harry to meet with governments friendly to the Americans and the British, then he'd go on to Condron and make sure everything was in order there.

Condron, Maziang and Campbeltown would receive their new riders in less than two weeks and there was still much to do.

Harry looked at himself in the large mirror and he had to admit, the official dress uniform designed by Karen Khan and May McNulty looked impressive. Their design was simple - a navy blue jacket and slacks. Wing leaders and seconds had added shoulder boards with gold stars sewn into them. On the right sleeve was a smaller version of the dragon flag and on the cuff were the Weyr colors in two stripes. Two stripes, one black and one white, adorned Harry's sleeve. The girls decided that Campbeltown would wear the stripes using their flag colors. The other Weyrs would choose their own.

He reached for the final piece, a white beret, and he frowned. Every rider had been given a navy blue beret to wear, except for Harry. The girls had decided that, as Weyrleader, he would wear a white beret. Placing the beret on his head he looked again in the mirror and admitted it looked very good on him. Satisfied, he turned away and picked up a small valise that Remus had given him for Christmas. It contained his ever present to do list and a series of charmed maps.

Remus and Sirius had taught Harry the spell they used to conceal the Marauder's map and he used it to create a bunch of maps that contained the Weyr locations. If you knew the password, you could see the location of every Weyr in the world.

"I'll be gone most of the day, Cheki, but if I need you, I'll call," Harry said.

Chekiath lifted his head and looked at his rider.

"_I don't like you going so far away and not having any dragons nearby,"_ his dragon replied. It was clear from his tone that he wasn't happy with the situation.

Harry sighed. "I don't like it either, mate, but there's no room for you. Albus tells me the meeting place is underground, like the Ministry building."

Chekiath watched him, his eyes streaked with yellow, showing his stress. _"You will be careful?"_

"Of course," Harry replied.

"_I will listen in. If there is a problem, I will come to you, underground or not,"_ Cheki declared firmly.

Harry frowned and put his valise down, then he walked over and gently rubbed the dragon's eye ridges. "I will be careful. And remember, Albus will be nearby. Honestly, mate, I think I'm going to be mostly bored to tears. But how about this? This weekend, you and I will go flying, just the two of us. Maybe we'll go visit another Weyr and spend the night?"

"_Okay Harry,"_ Chekiath replied. He enjoyed visiting other Weyrs. The pair going off would give them a chance to enjoy themselves without the stress imposed by being The Weyrleader.

Harry smiled, scooped up his valise and exited the building. He was meeting Dumbledore at his old office in the main administration building. Dumbledore would be tandem apparating them to the Ministry building in London. From there, they'd take a portkey to Paris.

Harry walked the two blocks to the Administration building. As he turned the corner, he skidded to a stop. Most of the riders where standing around in the front of the building despite the cold weather and all were looking at him.

May and Karen stepped forward, eyeing him critically. Harry wasn't sure if May was cold and that was causing her cheeks to redden or if she suddenly blushed.

"It looks fantastic, Harry," Karen said enthusiastically.

Blinking, he understood why everyone was waiting. They had all received the formal dress uniform, but until today, no one had need to wear it. Harry was going out to a very formal diplomatic function, dressed in the uniform they designed.

"It does look good, but I'm not so sure about this, Karen. Doesn't this make us look militaristic?" he asked worriedly.

"That's not really a bad thing," May said, suddenly finding her voice. She knew she was attracted to Harry before this, but the uniform really drove home how well built he had become. "We're not a military, but the uniform hints at the power behind it, and there is a power, Harry. You lead a nation of dragons and their riders. To the dragons, you might as well be their king."

Harry winced. "May," he protested.

"No," Karen retorted. "She's right. The uniform is a subtle expression of the power we represent. Military uniforms serve multiple purposes. But one that both our uniform and the military ones will share is to represent a display of power. Whether it's the dress uniform or just our flight suits and jackets, the idea is to be recognizable. We want people to look at us and know instantly that we are dragon riders."

Harry glanced down at himself. He thought hard about what Karen said and it made sense to him. "All right, fine. But watch what you're saying. Calling me that is liable to really confuse the dragons. And I certainly don't want anyone to get the idea I want that title. Besides, the Queen would have kittens if she even heard a hint of that."

May placed a hand on his arm. "Relax, Harry. We may think highly of you, but none of us are willing to go that far."

He glanced over to Karen, who nodded. He gave them both a weak smile, then waved to the other riders and stepped into the open door of the administration building. Preoccupied as he was, he never noticed Hermione lingering around the edge of the riders watching him. Her look echoed May's almost exactly. She was still angry with him, but she admitted to herself that he was a handsome looking man.

She was also angry because his behavior since hadn't met with her expectations. She expected him to start flirting with all the girls and trying to bed any girl he could and he hadn't done that. It was as if he was behaving himself just to show her how wrong she was. It was infuriating!

An hour later, Harry found himself following Dumbledore around as he walked the halls of ICW headquarters. He was very grateful when Jasper Brady showed up and introduced Harry to the Canadian representative. The familiar face of Brady drove home the idea that he wasn't alone here with just Albus for support.

Now he followed Albus into the general assembly hall and sat with him in the box allocated for the British delegation. Albus had lost his posting as Chief Mugwump when he had been forced to flee from the school. The British Ministry had thought they could blindly appoint another to slide into that position. It wasn't something the ICW was going to allow, and in an extraordinary vote, they elected Jochim Stebbins from Austria as the new Chief Mugwump.

Harry looked curiously at the strange room. It was broken down into boxes which allowed each delegation to sit four people. As a result, the room was huge and tiered, going back and up from a central pit with a podium where someone could address the delegates. The Chief Mugwump had a desk at the front of the pit, facing the delegates.

The box construction startled Harry. Each box had a half door and the box itself was made of wood that had dozens of runes carved into them.

Albus leaned closer to Harry. "Sometimes," he said softly, "things get out of hand. The boxes are enchanted so that they can be sealed and shielded. It's all controlled by a impartial hit wizard from his position overhead."

Harry glanced up and was started to see a floating glass chamber with a man sitting inside, casually watching the delegates fill their boxes. He seemed to sit in front of a panel of glowing runes which Harry assumed controlled the boxes in the chamber.

Albus pointed to a small gem studded panel attached to one wall. "With that, you can talk privately to any other delegate. Among the controls on the inside of our box are runes for privacy as well as shields, and comfort spells like temperature control."

At that point, one of the gems started blinking and Albus smiled. "Harry, press the blinking gem please."

Harry touched the gem and their box shimmered slightly as the privacy charm kicked in. "Konnichiwa, Dumbledore-san. Is that a new assistant I see?" asked a voice.

"Yoshi, you know very well it isn't," Albus said with a chuckle. "You've been reading our newspapers for a hundred years and I know you recognize him."

The voice laughed for a moment. "Ah, my friend, you know me too well. In the name of his Imperial Majesty of Japan, I bid you greetings, Harry Potter-san. I am Yoshi Masabe, Imperial Wizard and councilor to his Imperial Highness."

Harry blinked and Albus motioned for him to say something. "Um, thank you, sir. I'm sorry if I don't know the proper procedures for meeting an Imperial Councilor and hope you won't take offense."

Again the voice laughed jovially. "Oh, I like this one, Albus. I see he has the training of someone from Cambridge. They, too, always worry about giving offense. I have been keeping abreast of your activities, Harry Potter-san, as much as I can. At some point I would like to meet with you. My nation is eager to learn more about dragons. To our regret, we kept several herds and didn't want to believe the tales of dragon intelligence. But there is no doubting the reports we have received from your country."

Harry nodded. The dragons were known to the British Wizards and there had even been some pieces run in the Quibbler about life in the Weyr. The Weyr's location was unknown and all of the photos taken by Xenophilius had been carefully checked to make sure there were no recognizable features that might give away the location.

"Sir, if you can have your country's ambassador contact Prime Minister Major's office, I'm sure we can arrange a meeting," Harry replied. "If I may be so bold, I would suggest that any meeting include a senior member of your muggle government, as it would be very helpful."

"I will do that," replied Yoshi. "Dumbledore-san! We simply must do tea sometime soon. I will probably be in your country for my meeting with your Weyrleader. Perhaps then, my friend?"

Albus smiled. "I look forward to it, Yoshi."

"Til then, sayōnara ," replied the voice, then the gem went dark and the privacy sphere collapsed.

Albus glanced at Harry and chuckled at his expression. "Don't worry, my boy. You took the right tone with Yoshi. I've known him for years and he's a delightful fellow. Although I should warn you, he likes a sport called baseball about as much as Mr. Weasley loves his quidditch. If you get into a conversation about baseball, I fear you will spend hours listening to him."

Harry nodded, then the lights flickered.

"The session is about to begin, Harry. Take a seat."

Harry sat and and watched with interest as the Chief Mugwump walked into the chamber and signaled to the hit wizard in his chamber, who in turn signaled to the others by flashing the room lights again.

Harry settled in and pulled out a notepad for him to use in case something came up that he need to note. The lights dimmed again and came up to about half their previous level. The Chief Mugwump took his position and banged a heavy stone against the table.

Harry felt pair of hostile eyes staring at him and he looked around. Across the floor he spotted a familiar face glaring at him.

Sensing his companion's discomfort, Dumbledore leaned closer to him. "What's wrong, Harry?"

Harry motioned towards the box that contained the Russian delegation. "That's the guy we kicked out of the Weyr in Russia. He was the one leading the raiding party that injured Draco."

Albus frowned and glanced over at the Russian box. "Danakov," he muttered. "He is a most unsavory character, but he dare not try anything here. I did not realize he was the one leading the group. He is a dangerous man, not very powerful magically, but I understand he runs several illegal ventures for his cousin, the Minister, and he has extensive contacts among the Russian gangsters."

Harry nodded and he went back to listening to the Chief Mugwump as he tried to convince Italy and Greece to cease hostilities. The two delegations steadfastly refused to listen, even when the Mugwump pointed out at they were risking the secret of their world.

Next he tried to convince the two parties to put aside their conflict and agree to a cease fire while they attended a conference to broker a peace. That was also flatly refused.

Dumbledore shook his head and leaned towards Harry. "Jochim is a reliable sort of fellow, but I'm afraid he is a bit too stodgy for this kind of crisis. Once he's exhausted what he considers to be his options, he'll sit back and do nothing because he can't see what else he could try. Unfortunately, with the council so divided, his options are few."

Harry nodded in reply and went back to observing not only the Chief Mugwump, but also the various delegations. For the first time in his life, the lessons he had been taught by Lewis Franklin were coming into play. He categorized the various delegations and in his mind made a list of those he felt would be sympathetic to the dragon cause and those who wouldn't.

Suddenly, Harry's attention was drawn away from examining the delegations as Dumbledore rose in regard to a question posed to him by the Mugwump.

"I am grateful for your welcome, Chief Mugwump, and I am pleased to report that the British Ministry is once again fully operational within the limitations imposed by oath and the Crown," Dumbledore said.

"Oh really, Dumbledore?" snarked someone. Harry absently noted the delegation member's box was labeled Saudi Arabia. "You mean now that you're taking orders from the muggles."

Albus smiled at the member from Saudi Arabia. "Ah, Hassan. Unlike your nation, ours had oaths of fealty and loyalty to the Crown extending back to our dim past. Our Queen would have been within her rights to seize our properties and abolish our government entirely. We are lucky that she was merciful. Had she declared us oath breakers, a good forty percent of British Wizardry might have found themselves bereft of their magic."

Dumbledore paused and took a sip of water from a glass, then he looked around the chamber. "We British have always had a good relationship with our muggle cousins. It wasn't until the eighteenth century that a schism developed. A schism brought about by the absurd idea that blood purity has any true value.

"You delegates should look at what happened to Britain and take it as a warning. Yes, a warning that you must work to improve your relationship with your muggle counterparts before they turn on you. Muggles are stronger than ever and their technology enables them to do things you cannot even imagine," he said, then he sat.

A smattering of half-hearted applause met the silence following Dumbledore's words and Harry noted that most of those clapping were on his list of people sympathetic to the dragon cause. The few discrepancies surprised him and he quickly jotted down the names of the countries.

"Point of order, Chief Mugwump," shouted Danakov over the applause.

"You have a point, Delegate Danakov?" asked the Chief Mugwump.

"I note that our British delegate has an unusual companion today. By custom, any guest occupying the delegation box must be presented before this body or he should have been seated in the visitor's gallery," Danakov stated.

The Mugwump turned to Dumbledore and arched an eyebrow. Danakov was correct, Dumbledore's guest should have been presented just after the session opened. "You are correct, Mr. Danakov. The British guest should have been presented. However, in this case, I fear Mr. Dumbledore is not to blame. So eager was I to address the Mediterranean crisis that I failed to ask if anyone was to be presented," Stebbins replied. "However, let us correct that oversight. Mr. Dumbledore, if you would kindly introduce us to your companion?"

Dumbledore shot Harry a reassuring glance and he rose to stand next to Dumbledore. "Delegates of the ICW, my companion was brought here today to meet with certain individuals. However, he would have been presented here on his sixteenth birthday anyway.

"Great Britain was proud to be home to three known mage class wizards, and today I take great delight in introducing a fourth," Dumbledore motioned towards Harry.

"Those of you who have been following events in Britain no doubt know of our discovery of the intelligence of the dragons. And you know they have organized around a single leader and a group of dragon riders. The British Monarchy has decreed that dragons have equal status and rights as like any human being and has granted limited autonomy to the dragons under the leadership of The Weyrleader. The Weyrleader is considered a Head of State. As such, by right and custom, he carries full diplomatic immunity.

"It is with no small amount of delight that I introduce to you today, Britain's fourth mage, and the man who commands every dragon in the world. Ladies and gentlemen, Weyrleader Harry Potter," Dumbledore said with a flourish. His eyes twinkled with merriment and he winked at Harry.

Harry watched Danakov as he paled considerably while listening to the introduction. Unfortunately, his introduction wasn't as easy as it seemed. Several shouts were heard and people glared angrily at Harry.

"Silence!" commanded the Mugwump. Suddenly the shouting cut off and Harry looked at Dumbledore curiously.

"The silencing charms have been enabled on all boxes. Once the delegates realize no one is hearing them, they will calm down," Dumbledore said softly. "I expect you will be asked to say something. Make it brief and do try not to threaten anyone. I would rather not start any wars today if it can be avoided."

"What's this business about me being _Britain's_ fourth mage?" Harry asked. He knew he had to be introduced as a mage, but he hadn't counted on being attached to Britain like that.

Dumbledore shrugged. "It's merely a reflection of the country of your birth, Harry, not a statement of allegiance. It's a source of pride for a mage to be from your country." Every country had a small percentage of wizard that were at the very top of the power curve and it was a source of pride for a country to have a mage. Ordinarily, a mage would figure predominately within their parent society, but Dumbledore knew Harry was meant for a greater stage than one provided for by British Wizardry.

Harry nodded, satisfied with the answer and he turned his attention back on the Chief Mugwump.

Chief Mugwump Stebbins sat patiently for several minutes, then he signaled to the Hit Wizard overhead and the man dropped the silencing charms. He looked around sternly for a moment and the delegates settled back in their chairs. Satisfied, he turned back to the British box.

"Unlike some others, I have followed the British papers in recent months and I have read about the exploits of the Weyrleader and his dragons," he said, then he glanced around again. "It might have escaped the notice of my fellow delegates, but the Weyrleader led his dragons in an action which resulted in the annihilation of most of the British dementor population. And I know that he has been personally thanked by the muggle Queen for his actions."

Harry looked up at the Mugwump speculatively. It sounded like the man might be willing to at least listen if he had to plead their cause.

Around the room, the delegates turned to stare at Harry incredulously. Killing dementors was unheard of and nearly every country had a problem with them. Some countries managed to control them with the use of compulsion spells like Britain did, and others penned them in using wards, limiting their ability to do harm. It was an unhappy situation that most countries simply had to tolerate.

"We all know the story of the Boy-Who-Lived, but I think there is an even greater story that has yet to be told and frankly I'm pleased that it's happening in my lifetime. Welcome to our chamber of deliberation, Harry Potter, Mage and Weyrleader. Your name will be entered into the mage role, as well as our list of honored guests."

The Mugwump looked at him expectantly and Harry glanced nervously at Albus.

When Albus nodded, Harry took a deep breath, then looked at the Mugwump.

Several camera's flashed and Harry ignored them while he frantically thought about this situation. Finally, he spoke in a clear, firm voice.

"Chief Mugwump, honored delegates, on behalf of the Weyrs and the dragons of Earth, I thank you for your gracious welcome. It was not my intent to come here today to address this body, so I have no prepared speech. I am here at the invitation of Albus Dumbledore so that I could meet with a few people."

Harry paused to take a breath and someone shouted, "When are you going to resume shipping dragon products?"

Harry's expression changed. He scowled thunderously at the delegate from Peru. "Tell me, good sir, is your nation peopled by idiots?"

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the delegate in outrage.

"Have you no researchers, no potion masters, no experts in their fields? And can they not find alternative ingredients that would suit their needs?"

"Why should they when we already have something that works?" shot back the furious delegate.

Harry shook his head and squared his shoulders. "Delegates, I am not here to get into any fights with any of you. But I will tell you that the days of unrestricted culling of dragons and harvesting their bodies for products is over! We will fight back against any attempt to harvest and any nation that makes an attempt will find the full weight of the Weyrs of Earth fighting back.

"The Weyr has started shipments of limited products within Britain and to certain other nations that have promised to recognize dragons as a people. These products are strictly items which can be obtained without harming a dragon."

Dumbledore reached out and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. He glanced at him and took a calming breath, then he turned to the delegate from Peru. "Sir, I strongly urge you to convince your potion masters and your researchers to study the problem. I know Britain is already doing so and they have had a few successes in finding replacements. Speak with them, sir. I am sure they would be willing to share what they have learned."

Harry looked around at the delegations, more than a few seemed to be a bit afraid of him now. He didn't realize that when he had gotten angry he had warped the air around him from the flow of his magic. "Problems need solutions, not angry words. Dragons are people in a different form, no less different than humans, goblins, house elves or merpeople. All they ask is to be able to live their lives in peace."

A light lit up and the Chief Mugwump turned to the source. "You have something to add, Mr. Brady?"

"Yes, sir, I do," said Brady. "It is the official position of the Department of Magic and the US Government that dragons are a people. We will soon host the second Weyr with riders and we hope to host others in the future. We stand with the Weyrleader and back his words. I have been ordered by my President to throw the full weight of our government, muggle and magical, behind supporting the dragons."

A buzz rose in the chamber as Canada, Australia and New Zealand gave similar statements of support. Most of the delegates suddenly realized that regardless of whatever power the dragons might possess, there was real national power backing their position.

Harry bowed slightly to the Chief Mugwump, then sat down and wiped at his face with a trembling hand. He hadn't expected this.

"The Weyrleader makes an interesting point," said the Mugwump. "Several nations are already looking at replacement ingredients for many of the medicinal potions. I think it would benefit everyone if the ICW provides a mechanism to share information between the various nations so that all of us may benefit."

He turned to the Peruvian delegate. It was time to toss the man a peace offering. "Mr. Delgado, would you be willing to help us setup a committee to coordinate the research effort and to help pass information? Will you chair such a committee?"

Still stung by Harry's harsh comments, Delgado looked up in surprise, then he nodded gratefully. This would be a high honor for Peru. "I would be honored, Chief Mugwump," he replied.

The Chief Mugwump nodded happily and he asked for a motion to close the session. Harry leaned over to Dumbledore. "That's it, the meeting is over and we can leave the box now, right?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry with some confusion and nodded.

"Fine, I'll be right back," Harry said, then he quickly left the box and made his way over to where the Peruvian delegation sat.

"Mr. Delgado?"

Delgado looked up in surprise and was startled to see Harry there. Here was a person that was a declared mage and someone that had exchanged harsh words with him during the session.

"Yes?" Delgado said warily.

"Rather than allowing any hard feelings you might have to fester, I would like to apologize for my words and I would offer you a visit to the Weyr. Meet with the dragons and see for yourself that they are more than mere animals," Harry said softly. "I'd also invite you to bring along a senior representative of your muggle government. If you're interested, you can make arrangements to visit through the British Prime Minister's office."

Delgado blinked and the tenseness seemed to leave his body. "I may take you up on that offer, Mr. Potter. But first, I must consult with my Minister. We do not ordinarily interact with our muggle counterparts."

Harry nodded, expecting such a reply. "Nevertheless, my offer stands. Come visit the Weyr. If you can't bring a representative of your muggle government, then make arrangements to visit via Albus Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic."

He bowed slightly and left the man feeling better about their interaction.

Harry approached the box where Albus stood with Jasper Brady and the Canadian delegate. "Nicely done, Harry. Approaching him with an invitation caught him off guard and forced him to reevaluate his position," Jasper said with a smile.

"I just didn't want to leave it at that, Jasper," Harry replied. "I didn't mean to get angry with him. Inviting him to visit the Weyr and meet with the dragons is really the only way to prove they aren't animals."

Jasper nodded. "Still, it was well done, Harry," he replied.

"Yes, well done, Harry. Jose Delgado is notoriously stubborn. He was getting all set to turn this confrontation into something personal and you stopped him in his tracks. Even if he doesn't visit the Weyr, he'll be more apt to listen to you now because he'll respect you," added Dumbledore.

Dumbledore gestured towards the exit of the box. "Now comes the real reason for our being here. We have a meeting with the delegates from the British Commonwealth nations and certain other national allies."

Jasper Brady smiled smugly and Harry wondered why the man looked suddenly like the Cheshire cat.

Four hours and many cups of tea later, Harry understood why Jasper had been smiling. Between the British and the Americans, they had arranged for Harry to meet with delegates from fifteen countries. All seemed curious about him, and some were downright eager to explore the possibilities of Weyrs opening in their country. He knew that the Common Wealth nations had been briefed at the highest levels about dragons and the economic potential they offered, but what he didn't understand was the strong desire so many had to see a Weyr open in their country.

It was only after the meeting that he realized that the potential to reduce oil dependency would be a powerful motivation for these countries.

He returned late to the Weyr and crawled into bed, exhausted. Dobby popped in behind him and picked up his scattered uniform. Harry was the only person who had an elf who personally cleaned up after him, although there wasn't much cleaning to do. Thanks to his years at the Dursleys, he instinctively cleaned up after himself, except for a rare occasion, like now, when he was too tired to care.

With a snap of his fingers, all the clothes were whisked away to be cleaned. Dobby took a quick look around and saw Cheki watching him from his stall. He held a finger to his lips and the big dragon nodded.

Cheki knew how tired his Harry was and he knew that he had spent the day working for the Weyr. _"Good night, Dobby, and thank you."_

Dobby smiled. Harry Potter's dragon was as great as Harry Potter. "Good night, Cheki dragon," he said in a whisper, then he popped away.

Harry snored lightly, oblivious to everything.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- We've had a number of requests to join our Yahoo group that sort of leave us puzzled because they all seem to say the same thing. "I want to join to see what else of yours I haven't read before." Our Yahoo group is a nice way to let us reach out and beat the hell out of you upstart readers, but seriously, you will only find stuff we have published officially. Yes I have a whole crap ton of files that have never seen the light of day and probably never will. You won't find them at the Yahoo group.

And what is it with a crap ton? Was this some strange farmer's metric used in the olden days. "Bert, I'll take a crap ton of fertilizer, I need to plow and plant the back forty."

- Asking me to go back to a weekly update isn't going to get you a weekly update and is likely to get your head hammered by Alyx. Just telling you, you know?

- To the reviewer that said Alyx is nucking futs. I'll have you know she's never nucked a fut in her life. She did come close once with a box of linguine and a carton of roman candles and a bus full of nuns, but the fut got away. Buy were the nuns pissed off about that.

- Last chapter fell out into two distinct groups. The Hermione lovers hated it, the Hermione haters loved it. I'm not going to say what the slash lovers felt. I will not write a scene with Harry and Cheki in a hot tub! Needless to say, if you look at our track record we have rarely written a bad Hermione or even one that got seriously pummeled over. If you have been paying attention, you have a ton of clues as to where things are going. Hermione is NOT out of the picture, but she's screwed up, which opens the door for new possibilities. Nuff said. Oh and to the guy who wanted the Hermione/Cheki hot tub scene, no, just no.

So many people expected Luna to go to Harry that it would have been cliché to allow it. Sorry Luna fans, but she won't get to bed Harry in this story.

- One thing did confuse me. How could anyone consider what happened to Harry as Harry cheating is beyond me. Hermione and Harry didn't have that tight of a relationship to start with and what happened to Harry was mostly out of his control. I'll be blunt. If Minerva McGonagall had walked into Harry's room at that point, he would have jumped all over her. Cheating? Nope. Besides, Hermione COULD have gone to check up on him. Hell she could have gone to check up on him, found him in that state and stunned him to make him stop, then taken him to the infirmary. She didn't. She abandoned him to his own devices.

- Debo1983, May doesn't need to thump her. She's got something entirely different in mind.

- glazedlookineye101, I do try to balance the personal with the broader picture, but the story is happening on multiple levels at the same time. When you consider that my chapters are sliced from one huge file, and I make every chapter roughly thirty pages, sometimes it isn't possible to ensure the chapters are evenly balanced.

- A number of people have left reviews claiming they don't know how to leave a good review. There is a secret here that few seem to know. You're not being graded. There's no go review or bad review. It just is a chance to say "Hi! For a good time check out my youtube channel!" Erm..no, not really. Seriously unless you're signed in and flame me, there's generally no such thing as a good or bad review, they just are. Often I'll try to respond privately to your comments and occasionally if enough people mention it, or if it does irritate me, I'll mention it here.

- A few people have asked for a list of Weyrs/Dragons. I do keep such a list. The only reason why I haven't shared it with the readers is because there are things on it you're not ready to see yet. But here is a list of Weyr's we've either been to or heard about in passing.

**Weyr List:**

Campbeltown Weyr #1, Scotland, 500+ dragons, Harry rider of Chekiath (Weyrleader)  
Shetland Island Reserve Weyr #2, 260 dragons, Milzoth, Senior Dragon, Horntail.  
Irtysh River Weyr #9, central Russia. Feynith (Hungarian Horntail)  
Lac Logipi Weyr #17, roughly 90 dragons, Sorth (Swedish Short Snout) Located in Kenya.  
Condron AAF Weyr #26, New Mexico, USA, Ralaninth , Senior, Norwegian Ridgeback  
Condron Co-Weyrleaders  
Frank (Skip) Taylor, muggle, Menth, Ukrainian Ironbelly, Bronze Tint.  
Katherine (Kat) Matthews, witch, Lokith, Horntail, Gold Tint  
Corales Isla Fuerte Weyr #27, Columbia, Jetirth (NWRBK) Senior dragon.  
Romeral Weyr #28, Columbia, roughly 60 dragons, Justh (Norwegian Ridgeback)  
Nevado del Huila Weyr #29, Columbia, Mayleth (Ukrainian Ironbelly)  
Cheeseman Island Weyr #30, Nifleth, Antiopedean Opaleye, senior dragon.  
Aogashima Weyr #31. Mimath , Chinese Fireball, senior dragon.  
Sakushima Weyr, #32, Bonth, Chinese Fireball, senior dragon.  
Maziang Weyr #35, Tibet  
Maziang Weyrleader – Lobsang, wizard, Jekrith, Horntail, Bronze tint.  
Disko Weyr, #36. Only used twice a year. No Senior dragon, no permanent dragon population.

- And finally our recommendation for this chapter.

**Wait, what? By Esama.**  
StoryID: 6315336

An amusing little tale that pokes fun at all those wrong boy who lived stories. It also highlights the idea that mothers will do anything for their children. If you enjoy it, drop the author a review saying so.

**Remember, Signed Reviews Good Idea, Unsigned Reviews, Bad Idea.  
Typing your account name into the field below DOES NOT LOG YOU IN!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Alyx smiled at the audience. "You will be pleased to know I managed to get back into my computer after Bob's hacking attack. Severus and Draco are once again playing kissy face while they scour the world trying to find Draco's Who who which was stolen by the evil Harry Potter."

"And Slobnovia is once again financially sound after having discovered that they can corner the market on Minnows and sell them as anchovy substitutes."

Now Alyx looked a little unhappy. "Unfortunately Bob messed up my plot file enough that I can't tell what I had planned or what he inserted. As a result, Slobnovia is now at war with Buttholia and the evil Emperor Dumbledore. A video taped session of Snape and four midget nuns in a vat of pork grease has been released to wikileeks and Prince Draco faces a rebellion from Princess Hermione who is flying around in the Century Pigeon along with Neville Solo and Seamus Skywalker."

Alyx blinked and grabbed her hair and tugged hard. "How am I supposed to produce quality who who literature when I have to worry about what changes Bob might sneak in next?"

"You forgot to mention that Draco and Snape are now scouring the muggle world hoping to find Draco a Who who transplant. But you're not ready with your cold steam powered who whos so they'll have to find something else to occupy their time until you are ready," said an ominous voice. "Oh and Harry Potter is heading for a south Texas Weenie roast festival, I wonder why?"

Alyx squeaked in fright and Bob snickered, then he held up a microphone that was labeled, "Ominous Microphone."

Alyx looked around for the source of the voice and finally spotted Bob who had locked himself into her old control room and barricaded the door. "Why are you doing this?" she whined.

"Because I can." Bob replied, then he pushed the button labeled "Cue Ominous Music".

Alyx reached into her pocket and pulled out a mobile SAM launcher and fired off a missile at the control room. It exploded harmlessly against the impervious glass panel and Bob trained a pair of .50 caliber machine guns on her. She yipped and dove for cover.

"_Harry?"_

"Yes Cheki?"

"_Do you think they will get around to telling people they don't own Harry Potter and the Dragon Riders of Pern? So the story can start?"_

Harry frowned, there was a full war going on on-stage that would have made Hollywood weep with envy. All done to the background of ominous music. "I don't think so mate, maybe we should just start the story."

"_Okay Harry."_

* * *

**A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  
- Winston Churchill**

**Building Fifteen, Science Center, Campbeltown Weyr, January 12th...**

Millicent stood abruptly and stared at the screen for the third time. She shook her head in denial, then she bolted from the room. She had been working with Mildred O'Connor, helping her look at the various physical aspects of the dragons.

Mildred looked up when Millicent all but stumbled into her office.

"Doctor O'Connor, it's not possible!"

Mildred frowned. Normally Millicent was an eager student who meticulously followed instructions. Nothing seemed to disturb her calm outward demeanor, until now. "Milli, take a deep breath, then start over. What's not possible?" asked Mildred soothingly.

Millicent sat in a chair and breathed for a moment, then she looked at the American scientist. "I think you should come see for yourself. At least this way you'll believe me, or tell me I'm crazy and send for a healer."

Confused Mildred nodded and Milli stood and hurriedly left the office with Mildred following behind her.

Back in Millicent's little cubicle she turned to Mildred. "I was reviewing your biometric measurements on how quickly the dragon could change their weight."

Mildred nodded. It was part of her overall plan to baseline the dragons. "Yes, we brought in a portable truck weighing station and measured how quickly the dragon could go from their minimum to maximum weight and back."

The station consisted of an enormous pressure sensitive platform and a large digital readout measuring the recorded weight.

"Right," Milli replied. "We weighed nearly one hundred dragons. But one dragon in particular caught my eye." She turned and set the video player to rewind the tape until the counter hit a certain number and then she started playing.

"Look, here comes Norendrath with Mr. Black on his back. Note that as soon as the dragon steps onto the platform the numbers jump to one hundred kilos. Now Sirius jumps down from Norendrath and lands on the platform. See? The numbers jump from one hundred kilos to one hundred eighty one kilos, and then he touches the dragon for a moment, and the weight drops again and then he jumps off the platform..."

She trailed off as Mildred leaned closer. "It drops back to one hundred," she muttered, "that can't be right. That would mean the person on the back of the dragon would be weightless."

Milli shrugged. "It would explain Hagrid, don't you think? Selanth had no problem flying him and he must weigh at least 240 kilos."

Mildred took a chair and snatched up the player remote. She rewound the tape and watched the whole sequence again. "Impossible, how can that be?" she muttered.

"Could it be magic? I can levitate something with my wand."

Mildred shook her head. "That's different, Milli. Your wand allows you to direct a force that lifts the object. It doesn't make it weightless. The only way I know of to negate the weight of someone on the surface of a planet would be to place an equal sized planetary mass over their head and let both mass attractions cancel each other out. We knew dragons had some sort of field protecting themselves and their riders from being buffeted by high winds, but what if the field can do more? Remember when the four dragons took Ranglieth between?"

Millicent nodded uncomfortably. None of the riders liked being reminded of a dragon they lost.

"Four dragons lifted off carrying a load of at least seven tons and they hovered for a second. None of the dragons seemed to be bothered by the load, but more to the point, they aren't built to hover. So how did that happen?" asked Mildred. "What if that field can do more?"

"Even to affecting gravity?" Millicent asked dubiously. She was by no means a scientist, but even she understood that there were things that weren't possible. She had sat in on the coffee sessions of the scientists who debated magical levitation and were certain it wasn't affecting the mass of an object.

Mildred suddenly grinned at the girl. "I finally get to say it. Maybe it's magic."

Millicent winced. It had been a line that they had used on the scientists time and time again and she never expected it to be used back at her.

"I deserved that," she said ruefully.

Mildred laughed and stood. "Keep that tape handy. I'm going to go see if Sir Robert is in. He'll want to see it."

Millicent nodded and went to her desk to write up an observation report for Sir Robert.

"Milli?" Mildred asked from the door.

"Yes, Doctor?"

Mildred smiled at the girl. "It's not unusual for an interesting item to be named after the person that discovered it. Dozens of famous scientists have things named after them, Joule, Curie, Pascal to name a few. I'm going to suggest to Sir Robert we call this the Bulstrode effect."

Mildred chuckled, then left the room, leaving behind a witch staring at the empty door and praying the American scientist was just kidding around.

She wasn't.

**Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, January 12th...**

May sat down next to Luna and Susan and the two girls smiled at her. She glanced over towards the corner where the adults seemed involved in a noisy discussion. Doctor O'Connor seemed to be very excited.

"What's happening over there?" she asked and pointed with a finger.

Susan followed her finger and frowned slightly. "I'm not sure. Mildred and Millicent came in a little while ago and they seemed very excited about something. I'm sure they'll get around to telling us about it eventually."

May nodded, took a sip of her tea and opened up the copy of the Daily Prophet she had picked up by the door. She didn't read the wizard paper often, and she'd never tell her magical friends, but she privately felt some of the attitudes in the paper were downright quaint.

The paper led off with the report from the opening session of the ICW. While the main article was extremely factual, the editorial lamented the fact that Britain's fourth mage appeared to be rejecting everything about the wizarding world. It called on the Ministry to force Harry to give up his dragon and return to their nurturing bosom.

"I don't understand this," muttered May. "The main page talks about Harry and his introduction to the ICW, and barely mentions his role as Weyrleader, then the editorial makes it sound like he's being held hostage by his dragon."

Luna frowned and glanced over at the paper. "In a way Harry is very lucky. By pointing out how he's rejecting the wizarding world, the paper is actually doing him a favor. I doubt there is a single magical rider that didn't suspect Harry was a mage. Ordinarily he would have been presented to the ICW at the first session following his sixteenth birthday."

"But what's the big deal about being a mage?"

Susan laughed at May who glanced at her with a sour face. "It's all about power. Luna and I are powerful witches, but Harry takes it to a whole other level. At any given time, Britain has had at least three mages for the last thousand years. Some countries have less, some have more. A mage is a wizard or witch who's at the very top of the power scale. Professor Dumbledore is a mage, so is Mr. Croaker and Mr. Ollivander and now our Harry."

"But how does this make Harry lucky?" asked May.

Susan smiled smugly into her cup and then she took a sip. "Easy. The paper lamented the fact that Harry is rejecting wizard society. Had Harry been still in Hogwarts, he would have been swamped with offers of marriage from across the nation and even some from other countries. A mage is hot property and a lot of witches would fight to get close to him."

Susan paused while Luna nodded. "A mage who's rejecting Wizard society is not going to be very attractive, no matter what his power rating. Had he been just a wizard and not a rider, he would have attracted the notice of every major family and every unattached witch for a thousand miles. But now? Only we riders know his real value. None of them will dare offer a contract now."

"I didn't think anyone still did marriage contracts, not in this day," May said softly.

Susan nodded. "Millicent nearly decked her father, who wanted to force her into a contract as his right as head of his family. She was mortified. He wanted to basically sell her to a man three times her age as part of a business deal," Susan replied, reminding May of what happened when they went to Hogwarts back in September.

"So this mage business isn't a big deal then?" asked May.

Luna laughed softly. "It is quite a big deal, except to Harry. Our Harry is a rider before all else. He's convinced our future lies in the normal world, which is why he has been studying so hard at normal subjects. To Harry, magic is a tool just like we used tools to make the first few harnesses. I'd bet if you asked him you'd find he was annoyed to be called a mage in such a public manner."

"No, he wouldn't like that," agreed Susan. "He is a very private man."

Luna smirked at Susan. "Well, you would know, having gotten closer to him than any of us."

Susan blushed. "I suppose I walked into that, but it's true. We all know he hates it when he's singled out as unique in any way. Besides, it was just that one time and I was way down on his list of girls he wanted to shag."

"He's got a real list?" exclaimed May.

Both witches laughed. Harry's habit for writing things down to remember them made the idea of a list of girls very believable.

"No," replied Susan. "Just a mental one and he'd be mortified to know we girls knew about it. Look, May, it's no secret that there are two girls on the top of his list. We all knew it from the day we arrived. Why do you think none of us are making a play for him?"

"Hermione is still on that short list, despite the fact that she's hurt him deeply. You're right there right next to her, May," Luna added softly. "I'd like to have a go at Harry. Susan sported a huge grin the next day, but she also caught him when he was vulnerable. If I went to Harry tonight he'd probably thank me while blushing profusely and apologize before sending me on my way. You and Hermione wouldn't get sent away like Susan and I would."

"May, perhaps, but I doubt Hermione would be well received until they resolved things, Luna," Susan countered. "Hermione is still very angry at Harry and no matter how many times I told her he was not in control of himself, she's unwilling to believe it."

Luna frowned. "I tried talking to her, but she's still hurting too much to listen to reason. She has heard all the stories from her former dorm mates at school and sees someone like Chapman who will shag anything that moves and believes Harry is doing that. She believes it, even when she knows deep down that Harry would never be so shallow. He would turn me away, but he wouldn't turn Hermione away, or you, May, because he cares deeply for you both."

Susan turned to fully face May, then she leaned closer. "You could go to him and once he got over his initial shock he would probably welcome you. I'm not saying he'd jump your bones straight away, and you'd probably have to ease him into the idea, but he wouldn't turn you away or reject the idea like he would with any of the rest of us girls."

Luna looked pensive and she slowly nodded. "Yes, he would listen to you, May, but Harry has had little experience with any kind of love. No matter how much Hermione has hurt him, a part of him will always love her. She is a part of him and he's a part of her. Her problem is she doesn't understand that, or how much she's hurting both of them with her anger. Her attitude hurts herself, her dragon and most of all, Harry."

May sipped her tea thoughtfully. The idea did appeal to her, but she really wanted more than just a casual shag. She resolved to try to get some alone time with Harry in the next few days to really talk to him.

A motion caught their attention and Karen Khan sat heavily at the table with a great sigh. "Oh, what a day," she moaned.

"Problems?" asked May sympathetically. She was grateful for the chance to change the subject. The girls had already given her enough to think about.

"We're getting ready for bringing in over one hundred people from Parliament at the end of the month. Mariah's project to construct a theater is a major headache. Somehow she found the plans on the internet for a big enough building and we've been buying building material by the ton. Dobby says the elves can build the building from the plans, but they need the materials. To top it off, my monthly started and it's a real pain..."

She stopped when Luna sat up and pulled out her wand, bathing her in a cool blue light. Sighing in relief, she shot Luna a grateful grin. "Thank you. I can't tell you how much I envy you witches being able to do that."

"Karen, you don't need to suffer like that! Just ask one of us to help. Any one of us would have been willing to," Susan admonished.

"And your workload is going to get much easier," Luna said. "Soon we'll have bigger wings and another group. I'll finally have enough people to put together our Snorkack hunting expedition."

Karen shook her head and smiled. "Do you really think you'll find them, Luna?"

"Oh, gosh, yes. I have a list of possible places they could be found," Luna said firmly.

"Really? Where?" asked May, now intrigued.

"Hawaii, the South of France, Miami Beach, the Yucatan Peninsula. They like hot climates and it helps if there's a rain forest nearby," Luna replied.

"Luna, sweetie," Karen said softly, "there's no rain forest in the south of France or Miami beach."

Luna smiled and leaned closer. "Shhh... No one else need know about the rain forest requirement."

The three girls stared at Luna for a moment, then they broke up in laughter.

**#10 Downing Street, London, January 15th...**

James Mills sipped his tea and nodded at the Prime Minister. "I wasn't there personally but I was told by several people that the Weyrleader did rather well, sir. He met with representatives from a number of allied nations and even managed to reach out to several we didn't plan on letting him meet that day.

"Albus Dumbledore was very positive in his report to me about the ICW meeting, both in regard to smoothing things over between the various magical ministries and in meeting the Weyrleader. I understand they were a bit surprised at his introduction, but that quickly passed."

Mills frowned. "He did mention that one member of the ICW could be a cause for problems. Apparently, Harry tangled with the Russian delegate prior to the meeting."

John Major's eyebrows rose and Sir Robert coughed lightly, drawing his attention. "James," he chided, "you're giving the wrong impression."

Sir Robert turned his attention to the Prime Minister. "During the census performed by the Weyr, the wing performing the census came under attack and a rider was seriously injured. It wasn't life threatening, but it was a serious wound requiring several days of hospital care. The Weyr responded to the attack and drove off the Russians, but not before Harry seriously embarrassed the leader of the group, who turned out to be the Russian ICW delegate, as well as the Minister's cousin.

"According to Albus, the man in question is dangerous and now that he knows who Harry is, he is liable to do something to correct what he feels is a slight against his honor. Albus says it is unlikely he'll directly confront Harry. Even if he tried, the Weyr location is still unknown to most Wizards."

"So," mused John Major, "like any other head of state, he's going to need security?"

"We hope not," James said, "but I intend to bring this up at tonight's Weyr council meeting and see if I can get him to take a few precautions. Besides, the lad does have the largest dragon in the world watching over him."

John Major smiled. "Yes that's true."

"So, how are we set for the end of the month?" he asked.

"We have a final cut of our video, finally. Lee had to make several changes and he's asked me to thank your staff for their helpful assistance," Sir Robert replied. "It might not be a professional piece produced by the BBC, but for his first attempt, it's quite good really. The second issue, a place to show the video, is being addressed even as we speak.

"The Weyrleader understood they couldn't give away the secret of magic, so he's commissioned the building of a small theater that will be big enough to hold one hundred and fifty people. It won't be a fancy theater by any means, and at least for this go around we'll use rented folding chairs for seating. Harry recognizes that the theater has other applications besides using it to introduce people to the idea of dragons, so I think we'll see improvements made to the building so it can be used for lectures and general meetings."

Sir Robert grinned and he glanced over at James then turned back to the Prime Minister. "We have one very interesting thing we'd like to report. We're tentatively calling it the Bulstrode Effect based on the person that first spotted it."

"Oh?"

"It's been known for a while now that the dragons seem to have a field around them that protects their rider from the winds generated by flight. At first we weren't sure if it was related to their ability to control their weight or not. Chekiath, for example can weigh anywhere from a flat one hundred kilos all the way up to his full weight of twelve and a half tons," Sir Robert said, and the Prime Minister nodded at him in understanding.

"What we weren't aware of until one of the riders I have working with our people pointed it out, was that the dragons control the weight of anyone they are carrying as well. We have incontrovertible proof of the dragons affecting the weight of objects they are touching. It seems to be tied directly into the field they generate.

"It is possible that a single dragon, or perhaps a few dragons, are capable of lifting objects many times their own weight and taking them airborne. The possibilities are intriguing and it's opened a new avenue of research."

"So the dragons can lift heavy objects? Like what?" asked Major.

Sir Robert shrugged. "It's hard to say at this point. If I were to guess, I'd have to say a dragon can lift a load equal to its full body weight, or more. It's conceivable that just a pair of dragons could lift a fully loaded cargo container or more. Remember, they only need to be off the ground for them to go Between."

John Major leaned back in his chair and shook his head. Every time he turned around the dragons were presenting new challenges and new opportunities. He reached for a pen and made a note on his pad.

"Sir, if I may, what of the Chinese problem you mentioned?" asked James.

Major frowned. "They are continuing to look at various places up and down the Scottish coast, but a couple have set up a shop in Campbeltown, selling fruits and vegetables," he replied, then he smiled slightly. "It seems almost cliché, doesn't it? Chinese immigrants setting up a small grocery shop selling a mix of western and eastern food items."

Mills nodded and gave a bit of a sour chuckle. It was cliché at that. "Why are they there?"

"Officially, they are a husband and wife couple relocated from Hong Kong. They are also avid bird watchers, which gives them a reason to have some of the best telephoto cameras the Japanese sell. So far, they've approached the area of the Weyr only once and never got close enough to really see what was happening. The one time, however, they seemed to concentrate on the new construction rather than the Weyr," replied Major.

"So they might think there's something going on with the Power station and new laboratory buildings?" quizzed Sir Robert.

"We think so, but they are being closely monitored. I can't go into details, but they are people of special interest to us, along with their controller at the Embassy. You can be assured that if anything looks amiss we will contact the Weyr immediately. Your Major Atkins is aware of the protocols involved."

John Major consulted a pad on his desk. "I have one more piece of business today, gentlemen, then you'll be able to go about your business. I have a request from Her Majesty that his Highness, the Prince of Wales, be present at the introduction. Prince Charles has not yet met with any dragons and Her Majesty feels his presence will lend a royal stamp of approval to the event."

"I'll forward the request to the Weyrleader, but I doubt he'll have a problem with it," James replied. "I think he'll be most welcome."

"Excellent, then I'll see you next week gentlemen. Sir Robert, please keep my office informed about this new aspect."

Both men stood and filed from the room.

**Campbeltown Weyr, January 18th...**

Harry checked his watch, then he glanced around. All of the Weyr were present and waiting. The area in front of Hanger Two had been left intentionally clear for the arrival of their newest members. In the meantime, the rest of the Weyr were carefully arrayed in front of the hangars, waiting for the latest members of their family to arrive.

Only a few feet away was his dragon and he felt a twinge of pride every time he looked at Chekiath. The dragon was the largest dragon in the world and even though his growth rate had slowed tremendously, he still continued to grow. He was very proud of Chekiath.

Things had settled back into a normal routine at the Weyr, although Hermione still refused to deal with him on anything more than a superficial level. May had taken to seeking out Harry in her free time. Harry was still pretty clueless as to what May was doing and she planned on confiding in him soon. All he knew was that he was glad for her company. Her very presence seemed to ease the ache caused by Hermione's absence.

He was also pleased to note that Cheki's shagging flights still affected him, but at a much more manageable level than that first flight. Harry would admit Cheki's flights did affect him, but he didn't need a calming potion, nor did he lose control like he did on that very first flight.

Harry looked skyward, then he paced a bit before checking his watch again.

"Relax, Harry," Ronan said. "There's still some time."

Harry nodded, then he peered at his friend. "Are you sure you're all right with this, Ronan? I mean it's not really fair to you. We both know you should get the position."

Ronan grinned. "It's fine. I get to bask in the glory reflected off you and make sure the Wing is running smoothly. And I expect you to remember that when you want to send a wing off to do a cushy job, like checking out a nude beach for any threats to the Weyr."

Harry shook his head and chuckled, but there was a little truth in that. He knew he asked Ronan to do a lot more than a regular second should and he made sure that Ronan knew he appreciated it. Ronan was one of the few riders who got an extra gift at Christmas from Harry. He had learned that Ronan was building a large scale replica of a four engine Constellation airplane. Harry had purchased a multichannel controller for the project. The plane was complex and needed a more expensive controller than any that Ronan owned.

Harry enjoyed the few hours a week he got to fly his small airplane, but he was no where near being good enough to consider buying a bigger plane. And making a plane from scratch like Ronan was attempting was far beyond his skills.

"I send you out to check out a nude beach and Karen will have my stones on the mantle place in the kitchen hall by lunch time," Harry replied. Chekiath had reported to him that Ronan had been slipping into Karen's cottage each night. Harry wasn't concerned. As long as it didn't affect the Weyr, it wasn't his business, and he was honestly happy for his wing second. "Sorry, mate, but that's one task you'll have to find another excuse to do."

Ronan grinned ruefully. He and Karen had gotten very close lately and he learned she was a little bit possessive, not enough to be an issue, but enough to make him want to behave himself. "Maybe then you can send me and Karen out for a romantic picnic someday."

"Why? Do you really need me to order you out on a date?" Harry asked dryly.

"No, not really," Ronan admitted, "but sometimes pulling her away from her computer is a real pain."

Ronan turned serious, he knew this was a bit of a sore topic with Harry. "How are you making out?"

Harry shrugged. "Some days are better than others. I'm fine. I have to be, otherwise May starts hovering. Have you seen her? She can be as scary as Herm... her."

Ronan opened his mouth to speak when forty five dragons appeared over head and the dragons of the Weyr bellowed in welcome. The riders took up the challenge and started shouting almost as loudly as the dragons.

Harry hopped up on the small platform and waited for the dragons to land. The new riders looked tired and more than a little rumpled. It had been a working trip and they hadn't had much time to worry about things like laundry.

The riders slid down from their dragons and as a whole they looked very relieved to be there. Their lives had changed forever roughly two months ago and now they were ready to start their new life.

Harry held up a hand and the assembled Weyr fell silent. He grinned widely at them. "Welcome home," he said softly.

A soft buzz ran through the new riders.

"Now for the good news. The elves of the Weyr will take care of your laundry today. Just don't get used to it."

The only rider who had an elf looking after him was Harry. Dobby had been willing to accept any order except that. He felt he was Harry's personal elf and he made it his mission to take care of him.

A small cheer broke out among the riders and he laughed. "Secondly, I know that you have been working as two wings, but for now we will be integrating most of you into our existing wings, and creating one new one. Those of you who were acting as Wing leaders or seconds will probably be assigned as Wing Leaders and seconds to the next group of riders coming from the February hatching. You need more a bit more training and you'll be getting it starting tomorrow."

Harry paused and he noted some of the unhappy looks. "I know it's disappointing, but it's only temporary, I promise. I know who the leaders are and I can assure you, we will be watching your performance carefully over the next few months.

"The new Wing will be led by Lee Jordan, and his second will be Abbey Rhodes," Harry announced. Picking Lee had been easy, picking Abbey had been harder because he really didn't know her, but she had worked as the Wing Leader for one of the temporary wings and was very popular among the new riders.

The new riders cheered the selection. Lee had spent a number of days with the new riders and he was well liked. Abbey was another popular choice. She was not a witch, but she seemed to go out of her way to make the wizards among them comfortable.

Harry motioned for Lee to join him on the platform. When he did, he laid a hand against on Lee's shoulder. "Lee has a list of names for Wing Four, but you'll also find lists posted next to the door of the social hall, as well as the administration building. You'll also find your housing assignment. Leave your backpacks here and go check the lists. I'm sure you all want a chance to get cleaned up and relax for a few hours.

"The whole Weyr will assemble at eighteen hundred hours tonight for a party in honor of your coming home. Til then, get settled in, get your dragons settled," Harry said, then he stepped down from the platform. The riders took that as a sign to rush Lee to see his list.

Harry walked back towards the administration building while someone glared daggers at his back.

"_You shouldn't do that,"_ Comaloth said privately to Hermione. _"You don't know his reasons for not picking you."_

"But considering how hard I worked," she protested out loud.

"Hermione, stop that right now," Marty Benson snapped angrily. He walked over until he was just inches from her. He was a tall, imposing young man and he towered over he. "You have no right to be upset with Harry because you were passed over for the Wing Leader slot. In fact, I didn't recommend you for the position when he asked me."

She blinked at him in surprise. "What? Why?"

Benson shook his head. "You're a very smart girl and your organizational skills are without peer in the Weyr. But you plod. If you have to make a snap decision you waffle back and forth and never make a choice. If you have the time to consider it, then you'll always come up with the best decision. A Wing Leader can't be afraid to make a decision, right or wrong. He also can't be afraid to admit he knows he made a mistake and own up to it."

Hermione frowned. She knew his comment was a reference to what Harry had done. She had heard about Harry's apology to the Weyr but since he hadn't apologized to her, she refused to be moved by it.

"Marty I..."

"No," he said, overriding her. "Harry asked me for my recommendations for Wing Leader and I gave him honest opinions. Your name didn't come up and he didn't question my suggestion other than to ask me to explain my choice. He accepted my decision, even if it wasn't who he chose. You have no reason to be angry at him over this."

Hermione nibbled on her lower lip, taken aback by the public scolding from her Wing Leader. She wanted to snap back at him, but she knew she couldn't bully him like she could once bully Harry. And deep down, she knew that she could no longer bully Harry, either.

In Harry's office, another, very different conversation was about to start.

Harry pulled three books from his bookshelf behind his desk and he opened one, then he removed a gold plated fountain pen from his desk and started to write.

"Harry?"

He glanced up from his book and smiled seeing May in the open doorway. "Hello, May, how can I help you today?"

She walked in and to his surprise, closed the door behind her. He arched an eyebrow at her and she colored slightly, but decided to press on anyway.

She took a deep breath and mustered the courage to follow through with her plan. It was time to lay her cards on the table for Harry to see and understand what she was doing. "I've tried several times to catch you after dinner, but it always seems like I've couldn't find you," she said softly, then she glanced down at his desk. "What are you doing?"

"These?" he asked, waving towards the three books. They were mostly blank, and bound in what looked like fine leather. Someone had gone to considerable expense to produce these books.

She nodded.

"You know how we have a book of Weyrs, but these will eventually be the rosters and history of each Weyr. I got the idea from reading about how a captain kept a log of a ship's voyage," Harry said, then he opened one book and she could see that the book was much more detailed than the others. "This is Campbeltown's record. It contains not only a list of our riders, but also a record of things we've done, and sometimes my thoughts on certain things. I was about to record that we had the mating flights for the next hatching. And that I was planning on visiting Maziang and Condron tomorrow to present these books to each so that they could keep their own records."

Chekiath had participated in two of those flights, covering both dragons. The males he was competing against couldn't keep up with him, nor could the egg mother out fly him. Though she tried hard, he kept pace with her. Harry was pleased to note that Chekiath's mating flights didn't bother him as much as the first one had. The flight still made left him terribly aroused, but it no longer caused him to lose control of himself.

May shook her head. It was just one more thing about Harry that she found fascinating. Just when she thought she understood him, he would surprise her by doing something unexpected.

"So, what can I do for you?" he asked her, looking down at the book.

She colored slightly and moved toward him. "Well, I wanted to talk to you for a couple days now. I mean, I wanted to talk to you a lot sooner, but first you were with Hermione, and then you and she fought."

Harry glanced up and noted she had come around to his side of the desk. Feeling uncomfortable looking up at her from his chair, he stood. Her mention of Hermione put him on his guard. "Talk? About what?"

She took a step closer to him and his eyes widened slightly. "I really like you, Harry," she said softly. "If Hermione hadn't come to the Weyr, I would have tried very hard to let you know that a long time ago. I think... no, I know I care about you a great deal, more than just as a friend, and certainly more than just because you're my Weyrleader. In a way, I'm so very jealous of Susan."

"You are?" he asked in surprise. "Why?"

She smiled and shook her head. "You really have no clue about girls, do you?" she asked gently.

He frowned and she laughed, then reached out and touched his arm gently. "Harry, if we girls weren't bound by our dragons, several of us would have fought to be your girlfriend. When Hermione and you started dating, we all decided to sit back and watch. None of us wanted you two to break up, but none of us would have been upset if you had, because it would have meant a chance for us.

"Susan told me that she caught you in a moment when your will was being sorely tested. She said any other time, you would have sent her back to her cabin. I'm jealous of her because she got to share something very special with you," she said. She was watching him carefully.

"I may be an idiot, but I would have sent her away, but Cheki's mating first mating was messing me up," he admitted. "I don't think I have it in me to be casual about making love to some girl."

May nodded, expecting him to say that. She also noted his reference to 'making love'. It seemed to indicate he held the act itself in a higher regard than some of the other male riders. "Luna and Susan both said that there were two girls you wouldn't turn away," she said cautiously.

"They said that?" he exclaimed, then he flushed heavily.

She nodded. "One of those girls is deeply hurt and too stubborn to realize it's her own doing. I think the reason why I've had trouble catching you alone is because you don't want to get hurt again."

He looked away and she reached out and grasped his chin gently, turning his gaze back to her. That she could read so easily bothered him. He thought he was doing a decent job of hiding how much Hermione's actions hurt him.

"I would never hurt you, Harry," she whispered, then she leaned closer and kissed him softly.

His eyes widened for a moment, then his arms seemed slide around her all on their own and he returned the kiss.

May sighed softly and pressed herself against him tightly. She felt safe and cherished in his arms. She also felt in control. His arms held her, but she knew they wouldn't budge from her back without her guiding him. It was a new experience for the girl and it did wonders for her confidence. A part of her understood that Hermione wasn't out of the picture and for the first time she wondered if Luna was right that she may end up having to share Harry. She knew that she was very lucky. He could have been the type to sleep around with all of the girls, in addition to whomever his dragon was mating with. Guys like Harry weren't that common.

"_Yay! Good for you, May!"_ Chekiath announced happily.

May laughed lightly and tightened her grip on Harry, then she deepened her kiss. She ran her tongue over his lips and he responded by opening his mouth.

"_Harry just told Chekiath to shut up and go admire me,"_ Trath announced smugly.

May broke the kiss and smiled shyly at Harry, who returned her look with an expression of wonder. "I have one question for you," she said.

He nodded.

"Is it true that you'd never turn me or Hermione away?" she asked.

He looked down and then slowly nodded.

"Good," she whispered. "A girl likes to feel wanted. Don't plan on going out tonight. I'll be by around nine. We can talk some and perhaps kiss some more."

He nodded at her and she stepped out of his embrace. He let his arms fall away and watched her as she turned away.

May slipped out of the room and leaned heavily against the wall, her heart was racing in her chest. She had never been as forward as that, but it was worth it in her opinion. Harry's kiss had created a fire in her that burned hotly even now.

She had known Harry for just over a year and she knew he would never try to take advantage of her. He had an opportunity right there in his office and she knew she wouldn't have complained, but his hands never wandered. It made her feel very good about having a relationship again. She felt in control and that was very important to her.

Inside Harry's office, he sat back down and stared at the three books blankly. After his fight with Hermione, he had resolved to not get involved with anyone. Now it looked like he'd not be able to keep that promise.

A part of him felt that he was betraying Hermione by being with May, but a large part was still hurt and angry with her for her attitude. And this was May, a girl who had looked out for his interests since he first met her. The one nightmare that plagued him had been the possibility that Hermione would have asked him to stop talking to May. He never wanted to be forced to choose between the two of them.

**Chinese Embassy London, January 19th...**

Colonel Jin Tan Mu made a notation on a large wall map, then he turned to look at some photographs. He was certain that the place they were looking for wasn't at the naval base at HMNB Clyde, but it had still yielded some surprising information, including a visiting Los Angeles class submarine that seemed to have an new modification attached to it.

He examined the photo intently. Copies had already been sent via the diplomatic bag to Beijing for analysis.

The door opened and Wei Fong, the station chief, brought in a handful of papers.

"Ah, do come in, comrade Captain," Jin Tan Mu said. "You have news for me?"

"I do, comrade Colonel. According to our people, there is increased construction activity at the facility near Campbeltown. It is unusual in this cold weather for them to begin new construction, but they are breaking ground for more buildings, and it looked like they are planning on expanding the facility," replied Wei Fong.

The Chinese agents sent to Campbeltown had noted the new construction for barracks to house an additional brigade of troops. It was something they started not far from the area where they were putting up buildings for the power test station.

The Colonel's eyes were drawn to the map and he eyed it speculatively. "I see," he said slowly. "This place is becoming more and more interesting as time goes on."

He stepped away and watched as Wei Fong posted some new photos on the wall. They clearly showed the nearly completed buildings for the science team and now, new building equipment clearing an area not far from the new construction.

He waited until Wei Fong was done putting up the photos, then he carefully examined each one. "Is this where agent K was exposed?" he mused.

"There is something interesting to note, comrade Colonel," offered Wei Fong.

"Oh?"

The station chief handed him a photo, showing a spot of land near the main buildings of the older complex, it was a photo of the original airbase. He glanced at the photo and then looked at the station chief in annoyance. "Yes?"

"That picture was taken on January sixth, comrade Colonel. Then, barely ten days later, this was taken," Wei Fong said, handing him another photo. In it there was a new building that seemed to be nearly complete. Neither man knew it but they were looking at the newly constructed Weyr theater.

The Colonel's eyebrows rose. "There was no sign of a construction crew?"

"None, comrade Colonel, but I have made some inquiries back home and they tell me a building of this size would need a team of a hundred or more to put it up with such speed."

The Colonel scrutinized the photo again. The building was large, nearly as big as the old mess hall building that had been designed to feed hundreds at a time. The incredibly quick construction time suggested either an very large work force, or the imperials were using an unclean method of construction. In either case, it suggested that this building was of extreme importance to someone.

The Colonel stared at the photos for so long that Wei Fong began to fidget nervously. Finally, he looked up and walked over to the large wall map which noted the progress of his four search teams. He crossed his arms and stared at the map for a moment, then he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "Recall the other search teams," he said softly.

"Comrade Colonel?"

The Colonel turned and eyed Wei Fong with a hard glare. "Recall the teams and inform our agents in Campbeltown to increase their surveillance. This building is the key to understanding what is happening there. I am certain of it. Tell them I will send them more people and new equipment that will allow for around the clock monitoring."

"Yes, Comrade Colonel," Wei Fong stammered, then he hurriedly made for the exit.

Satisfied that he had frightened the station chief enough to remind him of his place, he turned back to the map and stared at it. The new building smelled of magic, he was certain of it. It was one of Beijing's greatest nightmares - their enemies using magic for their benefit. He must find out for sure and he was certain this new building was the key to the mystery.

**#10 Downing Street, London, January 20th...**

Albus Dumbledore, Sir William and Alejandro Croaker were quickly ushered into the Prime Minister's office. Inside sat a man in an American military uniform and Ambassador Madison from the American Embassy.

Instantly all three men picked up on the tense atmosphere inside the room.

Lord Kennewick stood talking quietly to the Prime Minister. Tony Blair stood uncomfortably nearby. John Major had taken to inviting him to attend some of these special high level sessions in his office. The meetings were always held in secret and he was transported to #10 via a limo with blacked out windows, invariably entering an underground car park a block away and escorted to the office via a secure tunnel.

The atmosphere was thick with anxiety and everyone knew something important was in the works. It was unusual to call a meeting so late unless it was for an extraordinary circumstance.

John Major looked up and nodded grimly to Sir William, then he turned to Ambassador Madison. "Mr. Ambassador, they're here, so let's get this started."

The Ambassador nodded and turned to the man in uniform. "Major Donner, if you would please?"

The man looked startled by the request, especially in light of the strange garb worn by the two wizards. When the Ambassador smiled reassuringly at him, he lifted up a metal case and placed it on the table. He opened the case to reveal what appeared to be a computer of some kind.

"This morning at oh eight hundred thirty hours mountain time, one of our DSP birds caught this," said Major Donner.

"Excuse me? DSP bird?" asked Sir William.

The major looked surprised and he glanced to the Ambassador, who nodded again. "The DSP bird is a Defense Support Program satellite, sir. Its primary mission is to watch the planet for potential missile launches and nuclear tests. This morning we recorded an extraordinary event off the coast of Greece. If you'll watch the image."

Everyone turned their attention to the small screen and Major Donner used his pen to point to the area that interested them. For nearly a minute nothing happened, then there was a series of five rapid flashes that blinded the cameras. When the image stabilized again it was apparent that the Greek island of Othonoi had lost a significant portion of its land mass.

"We believe that civilian casualties are high, as at least ten thousand people lived in that part of the island. Now one third of the island is gone and that wasn't done by a nuclear weapon," Major Donner stated. "By now, the French and the Japanese probably know about this, but few other countries have the hardware in orbit looking for this sort of thing."

"How do you know it wasn't a nuclear weapon?" asked Sir William.

Major Donner glanced down at the screen for a moment. "A single stage atomic bomb like the type used on Hiroshima would have produced a single flash of light. A hydrogen bomb would have produced a double flash because they use an atomic bomb to ignite the second stage. There were five distinct flashes. That means we're either looking at technology we've never seen before, or a magical cause."

"What are the Greeks saying?" asked Tony Blair.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing," spat Kennewick. "Their media reported a minor terrorist incident on the island this morning and since then nothing. There isn't even a disturbance in their military command net."

"I received an interesting call this afternoon from the head of BBC news who said he's been unable to contact his office in Athens. Land lines, fax, even internet seems to be down," Prime Minister Major said. "He very nicely asked if I could contact our Embassy and ask for someone there to call them.

"When a phone call wouldn't go through, I had our foreign office use their radio to get in touch with our people in Athens. The Embassy responded to the radio contact and reported that all international communications seems to be down and Greek Telecom says they are working on the problem. They also said that other than vague reports of another terrorist attack, they know nothing about any problem on the coast."

"What about Skynews?" asked Ambassador Madison.

"Same issue, but they don't rely on land line or the internet as much as the BBC does," replied Major.

"So you're sure it was magic?" asked Croaker warily.

"We are certain of it," Madison replied before anyone could speak. "Our Department of Magic had some people on the ground observing what we thought was just another case of Italian/Grecian posturing when it suddenly erupted into a full scale battle of over a thousand wizards on both sides. I'm told someone even let loose something called a Nundu, whatever that is. Unfortunately, the US Military doesn't understand that and the President had little choice but to allow them to go to DEFCON two."

"A Nundu is one of the most dangerous magical creatures in existence, Mr. Ambassador," Albus said softly. "It takes a hundred wizards to control one and just its breath alone can spread terrible diseases. We do not know for sure, but it's suspected that a Nundu was the original source of the plague that swept out of Asia to decimate Europe in the fourteenth century."

Lord Kennewick looked grimly at his Prime Minister, who sighed heavily. "Lord Kennewick, you are to place our ground forces on Black Special alert for the time being. Conditions can easily escalate to Amber but we are not there yet."

Kennewick turned and picked up a phone and spoke softly into it. He wasn't happy with the Prime Minister's decision. He had been pushing for an Amber alert which would have put the UK military just a small step from war.

Black Special was a state of warning to specific military units instead of going out to country wide. Units receiving such messages would immediately start inventorying their consumable stores and requisition what they needed to mobilize. Amber alert was the next highest alert, just one step short of war and had last been used when the government confronted the Ministry of Magic.

Ambassador Madison had privately informed the PM and Lord Kennewick that the US forces had been placed at DEFCON two for several hours. As it became clear this attack was magical in origin the President relaxed conditions to DEFCON three, which was still considerably higher than normal.

Prime Minister Major knew without a doubt that the US wasn't the only country at higher than usual alert levels. For a brief while it had looked like one of their NATO allies had suffered a nuclear attack.

Lord Kennewick placed the phone back on it's cradle and nodded to the Prime Minister. He turned to the wizards. "Gentleman, Italy and Greece are our allies and economic partners. Under our NATO charter, we would be within our rights to call an emergency session and propose invading both countries to free their governments. We do not want to do that, but this cannot be allowed to continue. Thousands have died in this.. this mess and we need to send a clear message immediately."

"What can we do?" asked Croaker.

Major's expression hardened. He glanced over to Tony Blair, who nodded in agreement. "Tell them that if they allow their war to spill over into our world then our world will make it our war."

"You can't be serious!" protested Croaker.

"Alejandro," Dumbledore said in warning. "They have a right to be angry when wizards start killing normal people."

Croaker nodded unhappily and leaned back in his chair. He could see their point, but exposing their world? It would be a disaster!

"Mr. Dumbledore, as the British representative, I wish for you to take a message to the ICW from Her Majesty's government. Tell them that the current conflict is to remain in your world or we will get involved. And if we do, the whole world will know why. There will be no secret wizarding world. And while many countries would offer protection to the wizards, a great many will not protect them from their own people."

Albus thought frantically, trying to remember when the next meeting was scheduled. "Sir, I will do that," he said slowly. "But the next meeting of the ICW isn't scheduled until the twentieth of February. I cannot ask for an earlier time, but I can meet with some of the representatives early and explain our position. Perhaps I can build a working consensus among our allies so we won't be the only country warning them to stop."

Major stared at Dumbledore thoughtfully, then he nodded. "Do that, sir. Make it a priority because the next time this happens, I _will_ call for a NATO meeting with the intent to inform them of the true nature of the problem."

Albus nodded and stood. "Well, then, I'm off to Stuttgart first thing in the morning, then to meet with the Mugwump. He may call for an earlier meeting."

Major nodded. "Good luck, Albus," he said softly.

Dumbledore smiled and walked from the room.

"Thank you, gentleman," Major said softly.

Tony Blair stood waiting while the others filed from the room. Once they had, Major leaned back in his chair and wiped at his face tiredly, then he glanced over at his political enemy. "It's not as glamorous a job as it looks, eh Tony?" he said.

"Perhaps not, but for what its worth, I think you're doing the right thing," Blair admitted.

Major smiled. "Thank you. Coming from you that is a great compliment."

Blair smiled and walked from the room, while Major sighed again and lifted another sheet from his desk and began to read. It was going to be a long night.

**Stuttgart Germany, January 21st...**

Albus stared out the window watching the snowy setting. The house was in a heavily wooded section of the city and had a wonderful view. This was the official residence of the Mugwump, and a place of quiet that he had often enjoyed when he held that position. It felt odd to be here as a guest and not the Mugwump in residence.

"It is a scene not unlike my home in Austria," said a voice.

Albus turned and nodded to Jochim Stebbins. "Mugwump, thank you for allowing me to see like this."

"Albus," chided Stebbins, "we both know you would still hold the position were it not for that fool, Fudge. I take it he has been dealt with?"

"Oh, yes. He was sentenced to an extensive stay in one of Her Majesty's prisons, his magic bound by a sealing bracelet and a geas placed on him to prevent him from talking about magic," Albus replied.

Stebbins nodded, then he motioned to a set of chairs. "Come, let us have tea and you can tell me what has brought you here. If I had to guess, I would say it's related to the Italian/Greek conflict?"

"Mugwump," Albus said uncomfortably. "I bear a message from my Queen and her government. They estimate that as many as ten thousand muggles were killed in the battle at Othonoi."

Stebbin's raised his eyebrows to his hairline. He had not heard that, but it wasn't unexpected. Wizards rarely payed attention to muggle casualties. He sipped his tea in the hopes it would help with the icy knot forming in the pit of his stomach. This was a disaster of epic proportions!

"And your message?" he asked.

"I have been instructed to inform you that if another attack like this happens, Her Majesty's government will convene an emergency session of the NATO nations to announce the existence of magic, as well as the fact that two of their member nations are not in control because of wizards. The Prime Minister will then propose a NATO military response to wrest control of Italy and Greece back to the muggles."

Albus took a deep breath and Stebbins knew he wasn't finished.

"After I leave here, I will be visiting certain ministries with similar messages. It is my fervent hope that I can garner enough support among the wizarding ministries that we can force Italy and Greece to cease hostilities. I know well how much we have underestimated the muggles. We must work very hard to see that another Othonoi doesn't happen."

Stebbins leaned forward on his chair. "This is madness. Wizard versus muggle would be a disaster for both societies!"

"I agree, but ten thousand muggles are dead at our hands. I came here today in the hope that you can convene our next meeting sooner than the twentieth of next month," Albus replied.

Stebbins nodded doubtfully. "I can try, but scheduling is always a problem. One thing I will do is offer the support of myself and my office. I will contact my government after you leave to inform the Austrians. I have no doubt they will help. My question is, what would you suggest we do to convince Italy and Greece to behave?"

"Total interdiction. We ward both nations to stop all magical traffic from crossing their borders. And we convince as many nations as possible to withdraw their Embassies and halt all trade to Italy and Greece."

Stebbins nodded. "Yes, it could work. It's a bit harsh, but I prefer it to knowing the Austrian Defense Forces are hunting down my fellow wizards."

Albus grunted softly in agreement. "We stand on the brink, my friend."

"Then let us work to pull us back from the edge," Stebbins said. He stood suddenly. "There is much to do, so I won't keep you for idle chatter. Thank you for coming here today, Albus. In truth, I wish you were still Mugwump."

Albus stood and smiled at the man. "You're doing fine, Jochim. It was coming up to a time for me to step down anyway."

Jochim looked unsure, but let himself be reassured by Dumbledore.

**Campbeltown Weyr, January 28th...**

"Let's land for a bit, Cheki," Harry said.

"_Yes, Harry,"_ replied his dragon, then Chekiath pulled up and pitched over, neatly pulling from the formation. _"I'll tell Garanoth to take over."_

Garanoth neatly slipped into Harry's lead position and the wing reformed their formation around him.

Harry nodded and waited patiently for his dragon to flare out and come to a gentle landing before sliding down to the tarmac.

It was freezing and the riders had been outside now for nearly an hour. With the riders now capable of long distance flights Between, they normally spent two hours in the morning in a more tropical climate before returning to the Weyr for an hour of additional flight training.

Harry pulled a pair of binoculars from his belt and he trained it on the wings overhead. _"Soranth,"_ he called, _"your trailers are too high. Tell your riders to trust their dragons and close up the separation."_

"_Yes, Weyrleader,"_ replied Lee's dragon.

"_They are looking very good, Harry,"_ Cheki said.

Harry smiled. "Yes, they are. I think we'll try cutting back on the flight drills in the morning to just the two hours. Besides, this flying in winter is brutally cold."

"_The riders will like that, but the cold doesn't bother the dragons,"_ Cheki replied.

"I know," Harry replied, "but you'll like it a lot less if your rider becomes ill from flying in weather that's too cold. I only make them do an hour at the Weyr so they're used to it."

Chekiath turned his long neck and eyed his rider, his eyes slowly spinning with streaks of green. The dragons knew the riders weren't as hardy as they when it came to extremes like hot and cold, and they also knew that the Weyrleader applied those same rules to the dragons, even if they weren't bothered by the cold.

"Dobby?" Harry called.

Dobby appeared a moment later. "You called Dobby?"

Harry smiled, he had been helping Dobby with his speech and the little elf had finally gotten over his habit of calling him 'Harry Potter Sir'.

"Yes. Is everything ready?"

"Oh, yes, sir. We have everything ready to help warm up your riders," Dobby proclaimed.

"Excellent, then I'll call them in. Thank you, Dobby," Harry said.

Dobby beamed him a smile and snapped his fingers, vanishing from sight.

"Call them in, Cheki. Let's get them warmed up," Harry said, then he turned and started to walk towards hangar two, where the elves had laid out gallons of hot chocolate, coffee and tea for the riders to warm up.

As he walked, he could hear his dragon calling in the wings. He paused by the door and watched as first Wing One peeled apart its formation. He noted with approval that Ronan was carefully watching the new riders and he was the last to land.

"_Trath is looking very shapely,"_ Chekiath suddenly announced. _"Just like her rider."_

Harry grimaced. His dragon had taken to teasing him about May, who was making it a habit to come over to his quarters every night for tea and some serious cuddling. Harry greatly appreciated her visits and they had learned a lot about each other in their talks and even more in their gentle exploration. May was steadily moving their relationship forward, and while Harry was sometimes confused, he was also enjoying himself immensely.

"You just want to fly Trath," he replied.

"_Of course. I'm going to fly Trath and Comaloth both and any other dragon who wants me,"_ replied Chekiath smugly.

Harry shook his head and sighed to himself as he turned and entered the Hangar.

"_Don't worry about it, Harry. I am certain that you'll cover May long before Trath rises,"_ Chekiath said.

He walked over to the table overflowing with hot drinks and poured two, one for himself and another for May. "I swear dragons could get jobs writing love advice columns," he muttered.

He stepped up to the stage where they had set up a table to hold all of the Wing officers and the Weyrhealer, then he placed May's cup of hot chocolate at her place and waited for the others to file in and grab their drinks.

He looked around and frowned. With all of the riders present, their main meeting room was seriously cramped. They would have to do something about this before the next batch of riders arrived in late April or they wouldn't have a place to meet. Harry held out a hand and his list appeared in it, summoned from his office. He quickly flipped it open and made a notation, then he added Mariah and Susan's name next to the item.

Mariah had done wonders getting the Weyr theater up and running, and Susan had taken charge of the physical part of the Weyr. Susan had made sure the housing for the riders was ready. She had also arranged with Lord Mills for any repairs to the housing that the elves couldn't handle.

A cough made him look up and he saw Ronan standing nearby.

Ronan gestured and Harry noted that everyone was present. He blushed slightly then he glanced down at his book before looking up. "First, some good news. Wing leaders, starting tomorrow we will reduce our flight drills to two hours near Romeral Weyr. We'll cut out the hour of cold weather flying, but I still expect that you'll schedule at least an hour per week of your own cold weather flight drills."

An appreciative murmured filtered through the riders and a number of people smiled. No one liked the straight flights in this cold weather.

Harry glanced over to the Wing Leaders, who nodded to him. They didn't have a problem with the short drill time either.

"Where are Mariah and Susan?" he asked after turning back to the others. Both girls raised their hands. "I'd like you two to get together and see if you can come up with a solution to a problem we face."

"What's that, Harry?" asked Mariah.

Harry gestured to the room they were in. "Near the end of April, we won't be able to fit everyone in this room for a meeting. I suppose we can use the theater you've built, Mariah, but in a few year's we'd out grow that, too."

Susan looked around then she stood. "What do you expect our total population to top out at?"

Harry frowned. "I am uncertain, Sue," he replied. "It's obvious that we can't continue to grow unchecked. A Pern Weyr in interval would have between one and two hundred dragons, and as fall approached, that number would swell to nearly five hundred.

"Spath feels that egg production will drop as the Weyrs reach some point between those two numbers. But he also points out that the other Weyrs need to be populated still. It's very possible that we'll train up a wing or two of riders who will then relocate en-mass to Shetland island or to another Weyr.

"I personally believe we'll see Campbeltown sustain roughly five hundred bonded dragons as the first Weyr and the others will have half or less depending upon their circumstances," Harry replied. "Lac Logipi, for example, will probably never support more than a hundred riders."

Mariah looked down for a moment, figuring something, then she looked up at Harry. "The theater seats one hundred and fifty people. We can't just double it up to get twice that. I'm no architect, but even I know we wouldn't have the roof supported properly if we double everything. We'll have to buy a new set of plans. I'll start a new net search for a building big enough," she said.

"I'll help her," Susan offered.

"Good enough, thanks," Harry replied, then he made a check in his book. "Next item. May, I noted four dragons missing today. Why?"

May looked up and nodded. "Three are down checked for flight. Of the three, Bruth is the worst off. I started her on an course of anti-biotics this morning."

"Armpit?" Harry asked with a sigh. The armpit area was the easiest spot to miss something if the rider wasn't paying attention on their inspections. All the riders had been warned time and time again not to slack off on their inspection but the armpit area seemed to be the spot of major infections. Harry knew that so far they had been very lucky. No dragon had died from an infection as they had in the past. He was certain that was due to the powerful anti-biotics they employed.

May nodded unhappily.

Harry turned to the riders. "People, you have to take the time to properly inspect the armpit areas," he said sternly, then his gaze zeroed in on Krystna Wolf, Bruth's rider. "Krystna, we all make mistakes. Learn from this. Until your dragon is rated flight ready, you will assist May and the others in the infirmary and perform full inspections on the non-bonded dragons."

May looked up and nodded to Harry. She knew that he wanted Krystna performing as many inspections as possible until she got them right.

Krystna nodded unhappily. It was obvious that she was close to tears. She had failed her dragon and she felt she had failed her Weyr.

"Krystna," Harry said softly to ease the rebuke. "It was an honest mistake and you will be there every step of the way to help your dragon get better. Each of us have had to learn this the hard way. Cutting corners on an inspection only hurts our dragons."

Krystna nodded and one of the other girls stepped over to her and put an arm around her. No one really blamed her and everyone was afraid that it could easily happen to them. The Weyrleaders punishment would see she developed proper inspection habits and leave her plenty of time to aid the healers in nursing her dragon back to health.

Satisfied that his rider would work harder to care for her dragon, Harry turned his attention to the missing piece.

"And the forth missing dragon?" he asked.

May shrugged. She didn't know about that missing dragon. Harry glanced towards the back of the room and their resident doctor. Doctor Sheppard took a step forward, "Brendan Caris is down with flu, Harry. I'll be checking in on him twice daily, but I've confined him to quarters in the hopes of keeping it contained. Acheth is hovering anxiously nearby and he knows to call me if Brendan gets worse. Honestly, right now it's just a fever and what looks like a bad cold, but I don't want it to get worse. One of our elves has volunteered to help by bringing him food and watching over him.

"Thank you, Issac. I know you'll do your best for Brendan. Please start keeping me informed if anyone else gets sick," Harry said, then he consulted the next item on his list. "Next up," he muttered, scanning his list. "Ah, here it is. February first we'll have someone here from the British Army to begin extending our network to all of the base housing. Lord Mills tells me that sometime after that we'll hand out computers to all of the new riders. Also, I don't suppose anyone is interested in the weather?"

Harry looked up at the riders who looked back at him in confusion.

"The weather?" Ronan asked.

He nodded. "It seemed to me that we should have someone who knew something about it. How many times have we jumped Between to come out in the rain, or snow? If we had someone who knew about it, we'd at least have some advance warning of what we're flying into."

A number of the older riders nodded in agreement. A hand in the back of the room raised up and Harry nodded to the rider.

"Weyrleader, I'd like to do that for the Weyr," he said timidly. He was shorter than Harry, even though he was a full year older than him.

"Arnas, first off, unless we're performing an official function, it's just Harry," he replied with a smile. "And thank you for volunteering. If possible, can you post a daily forecast for the Weyr in the Kitchen Hall and a weekly forecast once a week? I promise we won't hold you to being one hundred percent accurate. Also, be prepared to look up any of the Weyrs we might travel to. If you need some special equipment, put together a list and talk to Lord Mills about buying it."

Arnas Roberts nodded nervously. He was one of the odder new riders who always seemed at the fringe of the group, watching instead of participating. Harry knew he was a good rider and knew his dragon was quite happy with him. He hoped this would help him integrate better with his peers.

Harry glanced down at his book once again, then he looked up and his expression grew a bit pained. "Riders, the formations today were sloppy because some of you still don't trust the idea that your dragon can fly very well without you guiding them. If you tell your dragon to be one hundred feet above and fifteen feet behind the dragon in front of you, your dragon will place you within inches of that position. We've measured it. Sir Robert claims the dragons have the greatest sense of spatial positioning that he's ever heard about. Trust them."

"Finally, with an expected hatching sometime around the fifteenth of the month, we'll be bringing in the next batch of candidates on the fifth. Wingleaders, please post your schedule for who will be working with the candidates. I'll let you know which wing will be assigned to Disko for the duration of the hatching," Harry said. He glanced over at them, and they nodded.

"Very well. Wizards, it's time for charms class. The rest of you we'll see at lunch and then regular classes. Don't forget to dry and examine your harnesses." he said, dismissing them.

Harry closed his book after checking off a few items and making some new entries. Around him the riders broke up with many of the normal riders going off to tend to their dragon. The magical riders filed out, but they only had to step into a nearby classroom where Remus was already waiting for them.

Harry banished his book back to his office and summoned his bag of school books.

"I heard about you and May," said a voice.

Harry looked up and saw that he was alone except for Hermione, who stood nearby, her arms crossed and clearly angry with him. "Have you slept with her yet?" she spat.

He sighed and caught his book bag that flew into the room then he put it down and faced her. "We're not going to do this, Hermione," he said flatly. "I refuse to fight with you. You're the one who pushed me away. What do you expect me to do? Sit around and be miserable just to please you? I was already doing that when May made me see I was punishing myself for no reason."

He took a step closer towards her. "That night didn't start out all that enjoyable. By the time Susan showed up I was in a lot of pain and unable to stop myself. It's funny, really. Susan was not the person I hoped would show up to help me, but she did and I will be eternally in her debt. For all I know. I would have continued on until I bled to death.

"You pushed me away and I was miserable about it. My best friend turned against me. May made me see I what I was doing to myself. She's made me see that what I did wasn't worth a fight with anyone and she makes me feel good about myself. Something, I might add, that you used to do also. And what May and I do behind closed doors is none your business."

Harry picked up his book bag and started to walk past her, then he stopped. "I don't know what to do about you, Hermione. You are so smart, you're scary, but you are not more important than the Weyr and I refuse to allow our little argument to disrupt that again. Grow up before I decide you'd be better off working at Condron or Maziang."

Harry stormed past her and she turned to watch him leave. She was shocked at his anger. She knew it was mostly fueled by hurt but it still surprised her. She angrily left the room only to find herself grabbed and pulled into an empty classroom.

"Hermione," Luna said firmly. "I know you're hurting but you need to stop this."

She blinked and looked at Luna strangely. "What? I'm not hurting."

"You are, and you're making your dragon and everyone else unhappy about it," Luna said, then she moved to perch on a desk. "You feel like Harry betrayed you and now that he's started seeing May you feel even worse. I'm afraid you have little choice in this, Hermione. You need to get over it and yourself. You made a mistake. Accept it and try to move on."

Hermione stared at the girl for a moment longer, then she seemed to deflate.

Luna nodded to herself. "You're going to be unhappy for a while, but it won't last forever. The issue here is to stop trying to punish Harry for something he had no control over and stop punishing yourself and your dragon," she said in a gentler tone.

"_Listen to Luna, my heart. It hurts when you are so unhappy,"_ Comaloth said.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Hermione whispered. "I never meant to hurt you."

"_I know. You're young and still learning. It was a mistake, that's all."_

Hermione looked at Luna with tear filled eyes. "I've lost him, haven't I? The first time he sleeps with her, I'll lose him for good."

Luna shrugged. "Not quite, but I think that you'll need to spend more time figuring out what you want before you can say what you've lost or not lost. You're only sixteen, Hermione, and you're allowed to be unsure of what you want. As to Harry, he's a complicated guy who likes to pretend he's very simple. As we grow older, I think he's going to prove a surprise to everyone."

Hermione nodded. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she was still somewhat comforted by Luna's words.

Luna smiled encouragingly, but she knew this wasn't the end of the story, and she knew she'd have to get involved again at some point. It was difficult. Many thought she was a seeress, but only Luna knew the real truth. She saw now with crystal clarity. She could glance in a direction and know that two people were holding a conversation that related to her. It was how she knew to visit Remus and Lord Mills when they were discussing the man who broke into the Weyr. The future, however, was confusing and hazy. To her, the future was filled with forks and paths, some brightly lit, and others dark and scary. Little of it made any sense until the moment was nearly upon her.

"Thank you, Luna," Hermione finally said, then she took a big breath and straightened up. "Let's get to class."

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, Later that same evening...**

Harry smiled when he heard a knock at the door, then it opened and May slipped in. She didn't need to knock, but one time Harry was just coming from the shower when she arrived. He was mostly dressed, but she startled him badly. She figured at least by knocking she wouldn't surprise him.

"Hi, May," he called. "Give me a moment to finish up this paragraph."

She waited as he finished what he was writing. "Why don't you use your computer for that?"

"This is our Weyr log. I thought it would be best if I kept a hand written copy. Remus is handling the official history. This is more like a personal perspective," he replied, then he closed the book carefully and put away his pen.

Dobby appeared with a tray and May took it from him. He showed up this time every night with drinks and light snacks. She placed the tray on the coffee table and sat comfortably on the couch.

Harry stood and joined her. He poured them both a cup of tea, then he leaned back. "I'm glad today is over."

May took her tea and sipped for a moment. "I heard about your encounter with Hermione," she said carefully.

He grimaced. "It wasn't my best moment."

May blinked and looked surprised. "Why? From what I heard, you did nothing to be ashamed of."

He looked at her. "I'm going to say something and I don't want you to read the wrong thing into what I say. I care very deeply for you. I also care very deeply for Hermione, although I guess she doesn't feel the same way anymore. Despite that, I didn't want to hurt her and I still don't."

He paused and took a drink, then he started talking again. May had to strain to hear his words. "I started thinking about it and I think I came to understand that it hurts because she's still important in a way."

"In a way?" May asked, suddenly feeling wary.

He looked at her intently. "In a way," he repeated. "I really can't explain it better than that. She's not the most important person in my life anymore, but I can't just cut her out, either. Do you know what I'm saying?"

May nodded as the wariness dissolved. "I think I do," she said carefully. It dawned on her that she and Hermione seemed to hold equal places in his heart but for now she was the one on top of the hill.

"Good," he replied. "Like I said, it wasn't my best moment. She asked if we were sleeping together and I got angry. I told her it was none of her business and told her that if she can't keep her personal life to herself, I'd transfer to Maziang or Condron."

May stared at Harry in shock. "You'd do that?"

He looked pained. "Not happily, but I'll transfer out anyone who's a problem to the Weyr if I thought they'd be better somewhere else."

"So, you wouldn't brag about having some girl to your friends like some of the other guys?" she asked. Gordan Chapman was one of the loudest offenders in her book. He was always bragging about the girls he'd had and how they always seemed to come crawling back for more. She suppressed a shudder. The thought of Chapman touching her was enough to make her skin crawl. He was a rider and fine with his dragon, but he really was a sleaze ball in her opinion.

Harry looked surprised and shook his head. "Some things are private," he said firmly. "That boy whose teeth you knocked out? Do you tell everyone about it? Or, for that matter, have you told me the entire story?"

She leaned back on the couch and took a deep drink. "No," she admitted with a sigh, "I haven't told you the full story. Only my Mum and Da know, and I suppose the constables and his parents. As it was, he barely escaped being charged only because they felt that I had punished him enough."

"I'm not prying, May," he replied softly. "My point is there are things that aren't really secrets but we still don't want to talk about them because it hurts or is uncomfortable. What I do with you or anyone else behind closed doors stays there. I know some guys like to talk but I think most of them are really just making things up. I just can't see myself bragging about something so personal."

May smiled. "It's not just guys that talk. The gossip that passes around the tables at the social hall can be quite entertaining."

Harry frowned. "Anything I need worry about?"

May shook her head. "No. I guess the big topic is still our dragons rising for their first shagging flight. Karen decided she didn't want to wait until her dragon rose for the first time. Several other girls have decided the same."

"So, that's why Ronan has been smiling so much lately?" he mused aloud. "Chekiath told me he had been sneaking into Karen's quarters at night, but I figured it wasn't my business."

She nodded, then placed her cup on the table and moved so she was sitting next to Harry. He smiled and placed an arm around her shoulder.

She sighed and nestled in closer to him. "Once, a boy I thought I liked surprised me by tearing at my clothing and trying to force himself on me. He pushed me to the ground and I grabbed a rock and hit him in the face with it. After that, I thought I would never trust another boy," she whispered.

Harry stared at her in horror and she looked up and smiled. "I never thought I'd trust another guy until I met you. You aren't like some other guys who stare at my breasts and or look me up and down as if they're mentally stripping me. I knew you were attracted to me. You might glance at my breasts, but you always come back to look me in the eye. Above everything else, I could tell you wanted me to be your friend. You make me feel wanted and safe because of that. I know you want me but I also know you won't do anything until I say its all right."

"I would never," he protested.

She hushed him by placing a finger over his lips. "I know," she whispered. "I know you wouldn't. Someday really soon I'm going to tell you to make love to me. That's what we've been doing these past ten days. Letting me get used to you and used to that idea. I do want you, Harry, very much, but I'm scared too. I don't want Trath being responsible for my first time. I love her, but it should be my decision."

A myriad of emotions fluttered across his face, then he tightened his grip on her and rested his head against the top of hers. "I'll not rush you, but I'll be ready when you are."

May smiled softly against his chest. She knew they would stay like this for a while longer before she'd return to her own quarters. This was a typical evening for them. Some deep discussion that ended with the pair either making out or cuddling. She had dropped her big bombshell on him tonight, partially in reaction to Hermione's comments and partially because she felt it was time he understood. It also gave him time adjust to their relationship and where it was going, or change it's direction if it was something he didn't want.

**Campbeltown Weyr, January 30th...**

Harry stood and watched the eight large military transport helicopters and one smaller helicopter as they landed in front of hangar three. The Weyr was in full lock down mode and the army unit guarding the base had been increased to nearly triple size for the week that they'd be entertaining members of Parliament. Overhead, and still unseen, two wings of non-bonded dragons and all of the riders provided an overhead patrol.

Several luxury coaches waited nearby, while the blades from the helicopters slowed. Harry turned and stepped into the waiting land rover that Major Atkins was driving. As soon as the door closed, she drove the rover towards the smallest helicopter which, unlike the others, bore the seal of the Royal house of Windsor.

Harry stepped from the land rover just as the helicopter discharged its passengers. Harry was surprised to see that he was not alone, then he grinned. _Perhaps today won't be that bad, after all,_ he mused.

"Your Highness," Harry said with a slight bow, "welcome to Campbeltown Weyr."

The Prince of Wales smiled slightly and offered Harry his hand. He had been briefed on the dragons and on Harry months ago, but he had been away during the attack on Balmoral and during the Queen's subsequent visit to the Weyr.

"Weyrleader, I hope you don't mind that I brought my sons along?"

Harry smiled. "Not at all, sir. I had thought I would spend most of the day explaining what we're doing to a bunch of politicians. I'm sure your sons will find this an enjoyable experience."

"Boys I would like to introduce you to Weyrleader Harry Potter," Prince Charles said. "The Weyrleader is behind the reason we came here today."

Harry shook their hands and smiled at their apparent confusion. They were very close to Harry in age and were surprised that they were being met by another teen. "Judging from their expressions, I would guess they haven't been briefed?" Harry asked.

Prince Charles shook his head. "No. I'm afraid it was a last minute decision made by Her Majesty. She felt it would be an educational experience and something they may enjoy."

Harry looked at the two young boys speculatively and he decided a change of plans was in order. "Sir, if you would join Major Atkins in the land rover, I think I can keep your sons busy while you view our presentation."

Prince Charles raised one eyebrow and he looked at his boys, who seemed eager to find out more about Harry and this mysterious airbase.

"Very well, then," he said. "I will see you shortly. Boys, listen to the Weyrleader."

Both boys nodded and watched their father walk over to the land rover. Major Atkins looked a little confused at the change in plans, but she drove off anyway.

Harry turned to the two boys with a large smile. "Your dad is going to a meeting where a bunch of politicians will sit watching a video for roughly an hour, then they'll talk endlessly about something they really can't change.

"The real reason you're here today is to meet some very special people who aren't really people," Harry said.

Both boys exchanged a look, then William turned back to Harry. "You're not making any sense, Weyrleader."

Harry nodded. "I know, it sounds silly. And since your father is gone and it's just us. Please call me Harry."

"All right Harry," William said with a slight smile. "Now, how can we meet people who aren't people?"

"You're a smart person, William, but what if you could put all of the abilities of a person into oh.. say a cow, and that cow could talk to you. Would it be a cow or would it be a person?"

"That's silly," exclaimed Prince Harry with a laugh.

Harry laughed, too. "Yes it is, but the question is very real. What if I could introduce you to a dragon. A real life dragon who can talk, read, fly? Who can even be your friend? Would the dragon be an animal or a person?"

Both boys gasped. "Is such a thing possible?" demanded William.

"Cheki, would you join us, please?" Harry said loudly.

Chekiath shimmered into view. He was perched on top of the roof of hangar three and he launched himself skyward. The two princes stared at the huge dragon that was now visible to them and they ducked when he shot by them only a few feet over their heads. "He won't hurt you," Harry said. "Dragons only want two things. They want to be our friends and they want us to treat them with respect."

Chekiath came to a landing fifty feet away and he walked the rest of the distance. Harry stepped forward and he stretched out a hand to caress his dragon's eye ridges. "Chekiath, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Prince William and Prince Harry. Your Highness's, this is Chekiath, my dragon. He is the biggest dragon in the world," Harry said with a touch of pride.

Chekiath looked at the two children for a brief moment, then he turned to Harry. _"They will be lord Holders someday?"_ he asked.

"Yes, they will," replied Harry. He knew it was inaccurate, but the dragons hadn't grasped the concept of the monarchy very well. Telling his dragon that they would be Lord Holders would at least underline their importance to the dragon, even if it wasn't exactly correct.

Chekiath turned his large head back towards the two boys. His head alone was more than four times the size of Prince Harry. _"Welcome to our Weyr, Lord Holder William, Lord Holder Harry. We are very __happy you could visit with us today."_

"I can hear him in my head," William exclaimed, touching his temple gently. Then he remembered his training and bowed formally to Chekiath. "Thank you, Chekiath. My brother and I are honored to be here today."

"Lord Holder?" asked Prince Harry.

"It won't be told to the public, but I think it's all right for you to know this. The dragons have a very long memory, your Highness. They remember a time when the nobles in their world were called Lord Holders, as they controlled vast tracts of land. Because some concepts are difficult for the dragons to grasp, they fall back on what they already know. Your father, your grandmum, even the Prime Minister are Lord Holders to the dragons. They mean no disrespect. It's simply the title they can relate to."

"Can I touch him?" asked Prince Harry.

Chekiath craned his long neck towards the small boy and he scratched just above Cheki's eye ridge just like Harry had. The dragon made a whuffling noise and Prince Harry look at Harry questioningly.

"He's just enjoying your scratching," Harry said. "Everyday I have to check that area to make sure it hasn't gotten dirty. As we fly around, it's not unusual for dirt and grime to collect behind the ridge. If I'm not careful, it can irritate his eyes."

"You fly the dragon?" William said excitedly.

Harry nodded. "We do. Did you hear about that attack on Balmoral castle?"

William frowned. "I heard some of the servants mention it, but no one wanted to tell us about it. We were still at school when it happened."

"Well, we were there, helping defend the castle. The dragons know your family is important, so they came to help. And don't feel to bad. Before I became Weyrleader, no one ever told me anything either," Harry confided.

The three boys shared a knowing grin.

Harry laid a hand against Chekiath. "Later, if you get your father's permission, we'll let you see what it's like to fly a dragon. But only if he approves."

"_We wouldn't let the young Lord Holders come to harm, Harry,"_ Chekiath added reproachfully.

"I know, Cheki, but Prince William and Prince Harry do need their father's permission. This has nothing to do with your abilities and everything to do with being allowed to give them a ride," he replied. He saw the disappointed looks and he glanced at his watch for a moment. "Tell you what, how about if we go over to the theater. They should be coming out soon."

The boys nodded and Harry grinned. "Cheki, if you would?"

The large dragon lowered himself and stuck out his front paw. Harry quickly scaled the dragon and took his position, then he leaned down and offered a hand. "Well, maybe we can't fly over there, but Cheki can still get us there."

Prince Harry sprang for the offered hand and clambered up to the spot behind Harry, then Prince William followed.

Once they were seated, Harry squeezed his knees twice signaling to Cheki and he took off at a lope towards the theater. "Hang on," Harry called. Chekiath knew they were going to go meet many people so as he ran the distance, he called in more dragons.

"_Wing One, land and form up on me,"_ Chekiath called.

Harry smiled, hearing his own voice in Chekiath's command. While Chekiath still deferred to Spath and Momnarth as the senior dragons, there was no mistaking who was truly in charge of the Weyr's dragons.

Two by two more riders and their dragons landed and fell into a comfortable lope with Chekiath until all of Wing One was present.

Ronan, on nearby Garanoth, spotted Harry's passengers and waved to the Princes, who returned the wave.

The wing had just pulled up in front of the theater building when the doors opened and people started to exit the building. Prince Charles and the Prime Minister were at the forefront of the crowd and their sudden halt brought the others up short.

"Father!" shouted Prince Harry from atop Chekiath. The small boy waved wildly and Harry could seen John Major trying hard not to laugh. It wasn't often that the Princes attended an official function where they could just be boys, enjoying themselves.

Prince Charles looked startled and Harry turned slightly and helped lower Prince Harry to Cheki's leg. From there, he scrambled down to the ground and ran to his father excitedly. "Did you see? We rode Chekiath! We rode the dragon! According to Harry, he's the biggest dragon in the world!"

Harry helped Prince William climb down, then he followed the Prince. He silently sent a command to his wing to dismount and stand by their dragons. Like Harry, they all wore their formal uniform today.

Harry stepped forward so that everyone could see him and he motioned people to come closer. Both of the young Princes grabbed their father by a hand and pulled the still shocked man along with them. It was one thing to see a dragon on a television screen. It was something very different to be face to face with the largest flying being on the planet.

The video had been a resounding success, but it had also been very difficult to make. The first cut of the film had Lee's dragon invisible because no one told him it was alright for him to appear on camera. After that, someone mentioned to Lee that the film should be plotted out so that he knew what he was shooting. And thus, Lee learned the process of story-boarding a film. All in all it was an intensive on the job effort involving the Prime Minister's public affairs office offering advice and technical editing skills.

"Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr," Harry said loudly. "I am Harry Potter, Weyrleader of the Dragons of Earth. This is my partner, Chekiath."

Chekiath moved so that his head was just over Harry's right shoulder. He eyed the assembled politicians for a moment with his eyes twirling slowly.

"_Welcome to our Weyr,"_ Chekiath said. _"You honor us by visiting with us today and we hope you will enjoy your stay. May you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

Chekiath's words rang loudly in the silence of their minds and even the most stubborn among them suddenly realized that in the space of an hour, the world had changed radically. Seeing dragons on a television screen made it easy to convince yourself it was a trick of photography. Seeing Chekiath and the other dragons arrayed before them like living fighter planes drove home the point that this was no trick.

Harry glanced up at his dragon fondly and then a bell began to ring. The doors of the hangars slid open and the rest of the Weyr assembled in front of their hangar, while Wings two and three appeared overhead along with the two wings of non-bonded dragons. Harry wanted to make an impression and this was the best way of doing it.

From their vantage, all of the dragons were visible.

He watched the awed politicians for a minute, then he spoke again. "My riders and I will be here to answer any of your questions, although we would ask that any technical or scientific question be directed to Sir Robert," Harry said, then he gestured towards the riders who were neatly lined up near their dragons. "In a short while, we will take you to our kitchen hall, where you'll share lunch with us, then we'll show you around the Weyr and explain what we're doing.

"I know that in the eyes of many of you, we are young, too young maybe, but I would ask that you withhold judgment until you've had a chance to talk with us. Each and every bonded rider shares a mental connection with a being that matures at a much faster rate than humans do. Our mental connection provides a combined level of maturity that would be impossible for someone of a similar age.

"Today, our average rider isn't yet twenty years old. Conditions dictate that new riders will always be between fifteen and twenty years of age, but ten years from now, only our newest riders will be so young.

"I invite you to mingle and speak with the riders, speak with the dragons. They can truly send their words right into your minds, but they cannot read your mind. Speak out loud, as you would to any person. Finally, I would remind you that dragons are an alien species. In some ways, they have difficulties understanding some human concepts. Therefore, in their minds, they hold the Prince here and the Prime Minister to be of equal rank and call them Lord Holders. They can be very literal and even I have to admit, our language can be very confusing. Please ask a rider if you suspect that there may be a language difficulty."

Harry smiled tentatively and gave the assembled members of Parliament a bow before turning and walking over to where the Prince stood with the Prime Minister.

Prince Charles looked at Harry, then at his sons who hadn't been this animated around him in a while. His break up with their mother had been hard on the boys and it had reflected in how they acted around their parents. Both boys had left their father and went to talk to and scratch Chekiath, who was greatly enjoying their ministrations.

"Your sons would like an opportunity to ride a dragon in flight, but I told them they can only do so with your permission, sir. The ground trip from Hangar Three to here seemed a safe compromise," Harry said, then in a quieter voice. "A flight could be arranged, but I would suggest a time when we're not up to our eyeballs in politicians."

Prince Charles eyed the awed crowd of men and women and he agreed. There would be another time for flying with the dragons.

"Weyrleader, that was a most impressive display," the Prince offered. "In the span of less than a minute, you not only drove home the dragon's intelligence, but also the power behind them. There was nothing subtle in that turn out."

Harry smiled thinly. "Meeting a single dragon, or even a handful of dragons, would give the wrong impression, sir. A person might think our numbers are small and that we are disorganized. Truly all we want is our right to be treated as any other people."

Prince Charles nodded thoughtfully. Unlike most of the other people present, he knew about the time traveling abilities of the dragons. He looked at the uniformed members of Wing One. and while they might not have the precision and snap of a Royal marine, the wings overhead flew with a precision that even the RAF couldn't copy. No, the Weyrleader was sending a clear message. There was power here, power that the dragons would happily use to help Britain, but Lord help them if they turned that power against them.

**Chinese Embassy London, January 31st...**

"Comrade Colonel!"

Colonel Jin Tan Mu glanced up from the report he was reading. "Comrade Captain?"

"Comrade, our field officers have sent an unusual tape for our examination. I have reviewed it and think you should see this right away," Wei Fong said, holding up a tape.

The colonel eyed the station chief intently. He had been helpful, but he was also becoming more familiar than was proper. "Very well," he said finally, perhaps the tape would be interesting.

The Colonel had arranged for a small field television recorder to be sent from Beijing for the officers in Campbeltown. It was the one of the best and most compact machines made by the Japanese. The size of a lunch box, it contained a self contained video tape recorder and a small wide angle digital camera. Every day one of his agents would replace the tape in the machine and send the recorded tape down to the London Embassy for examination. So far, all they saw was some people moving around and the occasional vehicle.

The resolution of the camera was very low and the distance, more than a thousand yards from the base on the top of a small knoll, made it impossible to get detailed images. The Colonel felt that if something unusual turned up on the tapes, he would order his officers to begin around the clock surveillance using their telephoto cameras.

Wei Fong inserted the tape into a player and he started it.

"Comrade Colonel, watch here," he said pointing as several large transport helicopters and one small one landed on the tarmac. Buses pulled up and took the passengers on board, then drove off, leaving several people and a land rover.

"Now watch, Comrade Colonel, the three left behind," murmured the station chief.

The Colonel lit a smoke and leaned back as the three spoke for a while. All of them seemed shorter than the typical westerner, but he chalked that up to the distance and poor quality of the camera, which traded a wide angle for resolution. One seemed to be in a uniform he didn't recognize.

The three seemed to talk for quite a bit, then the taller of the three seemed to climb up into the air and vanish from view. One by one his companions followed his example and vanished.

The Colonel leaned forward eagerly watching the screen.

"Now watch over here, comrade," Wei Fong said. He pointed towards the other side of the screen, near that new building that he was interested in. He could see people exiting from the building. They all stopped in front of the building as if surprised by something. Then the two small figures appeared again.

Less than a minute later twenty more people appeared, seemingly just dropping from the sky.

Wei Fong stopped the playback. "One of our officers managed to be in the area at the same time and he managed to get several photos. Unfortunately, he was low on film and only managed two shots using his equipment," Wei Fong said, then he passed the photos over.

The Colonel frowned. His officer had been concentrating on the crowd of people, not the ones that seemed to suddenly fall from the sky.

"We have identified several of the people in the photo as being members of the Imperialist Politburo, Comrade Colonel," Wei Fong said.

The Colonel reached for a magnifying glass and he carefully examined one of the photos. There was a man in the photo wearing what looked like a Royal Navy uniform, but it didn't look quite right.

An icy pit formed in the stomach of the Colonel. Here was evidence of Imperialists using unclean magic and worse yet, they were militarizing their use of it!

"Send me a girl! I must get a dispatch to Beijing immediately!" The colonel snapped.

Wei Fong saluted, then he dashed from the room.

The Colonel glanced up at the map and tried to estimate the size of the force that would be needed to destroy this place. It would have to look like a terrorist attack, but it would have to be an overwhelming attack in order to stop the Imperialists from using magic.

His problem would be convincing his superiors to allow an attack against a foreign nation.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- I am going to start off with a very serious note this time. I got this little missive from a reader who has since been banned from expressing his opinions.

_Aetheogh 8/29/12 . chapter 7_  
_Once again a nice chapter to read..._

_However your story recommendation was shocking, not sure if you are aware of_  
_this but Esama is a SLASH FIC WRITER..._

_Really hate to remove you from story alert list and put your name in the block_  
_user list if you are going to be recommending slash fics..._

Really Aetheogh, just how narrow minded and bigoted are you? I recommend a non slash story and because the author likes slash you're going to remove my story from your list of favorites. THANK YOU! I'd really not rather be associated with a bigot like yourself that is afraid to even let someone reply privately to you.

The whole world knows I don't like slash, but I'm not about to pass up what I consider a decent story because the author predominately writes slash. That is Esama's preference, not mine. The story I recommended had no slash in it. And this public mocking and your subsequent banning is a result of your refusing to accept pms, but now you have the added shame of being shown for what you are, a bigot.

I hate slash, but I will defend Esama's rights to write it.

Enough said on the subject. He's outa here.

- A number of people wanted to know if Harry is continued to be bothered when Chekiath covers a female. No. The first time was overwhelming, but the times that followed were controllable.

- This chapter was delayed a bit because I had to replace my computer. The old one was being bad. Believe me.

And now the story recommendation and I promise NO SLASH!

Harry Potter and the Mind by Overdog  
StoryID: 7913377

This is a super Harry tale, completed and actually pretty decent. It might not be the next gone with the wind, but I found it enjoyable enough to favorite and occasionally reread. If you like the tale, do remember to tell the author that. I think he's got talent and a little encouragement might convince him to write more.


	9. Chapter 9

**Standard Disclaimer:**

"The Death Star will be in firing range of Slobnovia in twenty minutes," announced a voice.

"Excellent, my _EVIL_ plan is going according to plan!" exclaimed the _EVIL_ Emperor Dumbledore.

The sound of twin hammers being cocked caused Bob to pause in his typing. He looked over the top of the monitor and peered into the deathly black holes of two barrels of Alyx's shotgun. "Step away from that computer and keep your hands where I can see them at all times!"

He lifted his hands slowly and with his bare feet tugged the power cord out of the UPS that powered Alyx's computer, then he backed away from the computer. "You know, if you would just do the disclaimers like I asked we wouldn't have these problems."

"I was doing the disclaimers, I just wanted to add some panache to them," she retorted.

"A story about Draco's amputated weenie is not panache!" he replied hotly.

"Its a poignant story and you're too crude to understand poignant. It takes a woman's touch to understand poignant," she replied, then she motioned for him to move towards the walk in closet.

"Poignant? This coming from a woman who's hobby is landscaping through the use of explosives?"

"Shut up and get into the closet! I can't write quality literature with all these distractions!" she snarled.

Bob smirked and slipped into the closet without comment. Alyx didn't know he had hid the last three naked donut delivery girls in there so she wouldn't find them.

Alyx padlocked the closet shut, then she paused and frowned. She could have sworn she heard someone cooing and giggling. Bob didn't coo or giggle!

Shaking her head she turned back to her computer and started to type.

"We must find you a new Who who snookums!" whined Snape.

Draco nodded and drooled a little bit. He was reading a catalog about prosthetic who whos that could be inflated and deflated at will. With one of those, he might have a who who that could be measured finally! "Yes love bits..."

"Warning, battery low, purging all files to conserve power," announced the super smart UPS built by Bob Industries.

"Noooooo!" wailed Alyx.

"_Harry? They are at it again,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry stood and faced the audience. "Thankfully the authors of this tale do not own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern," he said, then he turned to his dragon. "Good enough mate?"

"_Yes, now we can begin."_

* * *

**A true friend is one soul in two bodies.  
-Aristotle**

**Campbeltown Weyr, February 2nd...**

"_Harry? Harry! You need to wake up,"_ Chekiath said insistently.

He groaned and opened one eye to peer at his clock. "Cheki," he moaned, "it's not even six in the morning."

"It's too early," May mumbled from her position next to him.

Harry glanced over at her and smiled, then he carefully pulled up the blankets, making sure she was fully covered. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled into the blankets. She wore one of his tee shirts as pajamas and he had to admit his shirt never looked that good on him.

"_Are you awake yet?"_ Chekiath asked. _"Mosyth says his rider needs to talk to you. He found something out on patrol this morning."_

Harry shook his head and tried to process what Cheki was saying. Dominick Shovlin was Mosyth's rider, one of the riders from the last hatching. He was a good, solid and dependable rider who deeply cared about dragons and worked very hard for the Weyr. Harry had an eye on him as a possible Wing Leader or second for the coming hatching.

"Is it truly important?" he asked quietly.

"_He thinks it is, Harry. He says you should bring Smelly Dog and Brown Runner,"_ Chekiath said.

Harry swore under his breath and slid out from under the covers. If Dominick was asking for the heads of Weyr security, it had to be important.

"Harry," May said grumpily, "come back to bed."

He smiled at her. This was the second time she had spent the night and he was glad she had.

"Sorry, love. Weyr business, it seems. Go back to sleep," he said, then he slipped on his boxers and started to dress. "Cheki, ask Norendrath to wake Sirius and Katherine."

May snuggled into the blankets and watched him dress with a soft smile. They had made love for the first time only two days ago and now May was more sure than ever that this was the right thing for her. Harry was a considerate and gentle lover and it was exactly what she needed at this point in her life.

"_They are already up. Brown Runner was just coming off her rounds when Mosyth asked for them,"_ Chekiath replied.

Harry pulled on his flight suit, then glanced at the open door that lead to the rest of the house. With a gesture, he closed the door. "The door's closed, Cheki. You can open your door now," he said.

"_I'll see you outside,"_ Chekiath announced.

May's smile broadened. Closing the door trapped the heat in the room. The dragon doors weren't very fast and while they were open the houses cooled rapidly. Harry closing the door meant she'd stay nice and toasty.

Harry zipped up his flight suit, then he leaned over the bed and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you later," he said, then he left the room.

Harry followed Chekiath out his dragon door. They both watched as the door closed.

"_I like May,"_ Chekiath said. _"She's good for you. When you cover her I can feel you both very strongly."_

Harry paused and looked at Chekiath, then he shrugged. "She's a good, strong rider and a really sweet girl. I care about her very deeply."

Cheki watched him for a moment, then he lifted a leg for him to use to get on his shoulder. Harry shrugged into his jacket and climbed into his spot. It was still dark and bitterly cold, so he immediately reached for his gloves and helmet.

"_Things will finally be back to normal when you bring Hermione back to us too,"_ Chekiath announced then he sprang skyward.

"What?" shouted Harry. He wasn't sure if his dragon was kidding or not.

"_Mosyth wants us to come to where he is,"_ Chekiath announced with a rumble. He was laughing at his rider and before Harry could reply, his dragon took them Between.

Harry glared at the back of his dragon's head, then he took a look around and frowned. They weren't over the Weyr. For some reason Mosyth had strayed from the patrol pattern. He nudged Cheki and the large dragon banked sharply and lost altitude quickly. He could see the lights from the Weyr from his location. They were at least half a mile away from the Weyr, perhaps more.

It was still very dark with no hint of sunlight in the sky, yet and Norendrath slipped into formation with Chekiath, carrying a worried Sirius and Katherine.

Once Chekiath landed, Harry slid down the side of his dragon and walked over to Dominick Shovlin. "Dominick, what has you so upset?"

Dominick looked at Harry nervously. "I'm sorry for waking you, Weyrleader, but this seemed too important."

Harry frowned and placed a hand on Dominick's shoulder. "Relax and take a few deep breaths, Dom. And call me Harry, please. There's no formality between us riders."

Dominick, like several of the other newer riders, had heard the tales of Harry's first year as Weyrleader and was having trouble relating to him on a casual basis.

Harry glanced over to see a perplexed Katherine and Sirius standing nearby, watching them. He gave the pair a weak smile, then he turned back to Dominick. "Why don't you start at the beginning, Dom?"

The boy nodded. "It was late and to be honest I was having trouble staying awake, so I had Mosyth widen his patrol pattern just to give me something new to look at."

Harry nodded and motioned for him to continue. He couldn't fault his rider for being sleepy. It had happened to him plenty of times too while on patrol.

"Anyway, I was coming up to the point where I would turn onto my northbound leg when one of the army trucks turned and both Mosyth and I saw a flash of light. At first I didn't think anything of it, but then Moysth and I talked it over and decided to check it out. We came in low and heard someone scream. I'm sorry, Weyrleader, but I figured with it being dark, Mosyth didn't need to conceal himself."

Harry frowned and nodded slowly. When Dominick looked at him fearfully and he sighed. "I can understand what your saying Dom, go on with your story."

Dominick nodded. "Well, we landed. We could hear someone crashing through the brush, running away. I started to follow when I tripped over that!" he said, pointing to the two boxes on the ground.

Everyone's eyes followed Dominick's finger and Katherine gasped. She stepped back away from Sirius and Harry and reached for her radio. "This is Major Atkins. Condition Blue, this is not a drill," she said tensely.

Harry looked up from examining the camera and he glanced towards the Weyr. Suddenly floodlights lit up the former base and a siren started to sound.

"Major?" he said in alarm.

"We may have an intruder, Harry," she said tensely. "Our SAS uses cameras similar to that when we want to reconnoiter a target for a while before attacking it."

Sirius watched the Weyr in the distance for a moment, then looked down at the camera, which was pointed skyward from when Dominick tripped over it. "The headlights of one of the army patrol trucks must have reflected off of the lens," he said thoughtfully, "Norendrath, let's get more dragons in the air, if someone is sneaking around, we want to find them quick."

Norendrath glanced over to Harry, who nodded. Normally the dragon would have followed instructions but with Harry present he only took orders from his Weyrleader.

Katherine knelt by the main box and examined the latches. "It looks like a standard Japanese surveillance model without any modifications. The one our people use is a lot more advanced. Maybe this is a commercial model?" she said, then she reached for the latches.

"Wait," Sirius said, grabbing her hand. Something about the box felt off to him, it was an instinctive move on his part and he pulled her away and then he opened the box with his wand. The unit made a snapping noise and there was a smell of burning electronics. Another flick caused the small hatch to open revealing the interior of the unit.

Katherine's was about to scold Sirius for ruining the unit when her eyes widened and she grabbed Sirius, pulling him back. "Get away from it! Now!" she shouted.

Everyone moved about twenty feet away and they turned to look at Katherine in confusion.

She pointed to a rectangular object attached to the inside of the hatch. "That's an explosive charge."

"Then why didn't it explode?" asked Dominick. "You would think it was designed to blow up when it was opened."

"Magic," Harry said, then he shrugged. "Sirius' spell would mess up any nearby active electronics. I would bet this thing no longer works and that includes whatever makes that thing blow up. We would never use magic around active electronics and that thing was active."

Sirius shrugged. "Don't ask me why, but when Katherine went to open it I suddenly felt that it was a bad idea. That's why I opened with with my wand."

"Maybe," Katherine said dubiously, "or maybe it just wasn't armed while someone was working on the unit. In either case, we need expert help to deal with this. Sergeant Nichols might be able to disarm it, but I'd prefer to call in someone from Army Ordnance."

She gave Sirius a loving smile to show she wasn't angry with him. That didn't look like a lot of explosive, but it was certainly enough to blow her hands to pieces, perhaps even kill her.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, then he looked down at the Weyr, which was even now waking up in confusion. No one knew what had caused the alarm, or why everyone was getting up so early.

"This is all we need," he muttered.

"Harry?" Sirius said.

He started and then gave Sirius a rueful smile. "Sorry, just muttering to myself. If we have people sneaking around the Weyr, we need to be more on guard, but we're also gearing up for the next hatching. It's a complication we can do without, you know?"

Sirius nodded and clasped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "We'll handle it. I'll stay here with Dominick. Why don't you take Katherine back to the Weyr so she can send some people here and get a hold of the experts she needs."

Harry nodded and gestured to Katherine. She turned and glared at Sirius, then she sighed. Sirius was right, she did need to get back to her people. "All right, but keep away from that thing. Just because it didn't explode now doesn't mean it won't. No closer than twenty feet. Got it?"

Sirius and Dominick nodded.

"You did well, Dom. Don't worry about being out of pattern. Had you stayed in pattern we never would have found this," Harry said, then he turned and walked over to Chekiath.

Ten minutes later, Harry found himself in his office. He had pulled out a large map of the Weyr and stuck it against a wall using magic. He marked a rough position for where the camera was found he tried to figure out what it could pick up. They already knew that a dragon would not appear on camera unless it wanted to, so he was interested in seeing what else the camera might have seen.

The door opened and May stuck her head in. She was dressed and looked decidedly unhappy about it. The entire Weyr was awake and so far no one had told them a thing. Harry smiled slightly and motioned for her to join him. He couldn't help admiring her form as she made her way to a tray with coffee that Dobby had brought him.

"Harry, what's going on? Everyone is awake and edgy," she said, sitting down across from his desk.

He turned from the wall map he had been examining. "One of the early shift patrol dragons noticed something when he and his rider strayed out of pattern. I'll be explaining it to everyone in just a few minutes," he said, then he pulled down the map and rolled it up.

She paused to listen as Trath told her that the Weyrleader was requesting a meeting of all riders in the kitchen hall right away. "Well, since there's a meeting, I guess I might as well come along," she said with a smile.

He grinned back at her and held out a hand. She looked startled for a moment, then her smile broadened and she took it. She knew he wasn't very demonstrative in public, so this was a big step for him. She made a mental note to thank Susan. Harry was everything she could want in a lover and she was sure Susan had a hand in that somehow.

Ten minutes later, Harry stood in front of the riders. Of the adults, only Remus, Doctor Sheppard and Mildred O'Connor were present. Lord Mills and Sir Robert didn't spend their nights at the Weyr unless something special was happening, so both men were absent, away in their own homes and presumably still asleep.

"A short while ago, one of our early shift patrol riders spotted something on the ground and went to investigate. Someone ran away from him in fear, but left behind a video camera that had been booby trapped with some sort of explosive device. It was only sheer luck that Sirius Black insisted on using magic to open the device. If he hadn't, it could have exploded."

He paused to look around at the serious and surprised faces staring back at him. "This is something I tried to warn people about before we brought the people from Parliament here. Some people will love us, some will hate us.

"I don't know what we're facing for certain. Could it have been a result of someone in Parliament learning about dragons? Possibly. Not all of our guests seemed to be very accepting of us. Could it be someone else? Again, possibly. I have been told that the Chinese government has taken an extreme interest in finding out more about how their agent was caught last year. What I do know for certain is that there was enough explosive in that camera to ruin it and perhaps kill the person opening it. And that says they are a danger to us.

"Effective immediately, we are doubling our airborne patrols and expanding the patrol area. We were just concerned about people breaching our fence line. Now, I want to know if someone gets within a kilometer of the Weyr. Also, with an expected hatching soon, I am instituting a patrol over Disko Island. We will maintain a cover for Disko from the time the dragons arrive to lay their eggs to the time the new riders leave for their Weyr tour. I will confer with the leaders of the other Weyrs to insure that we all provide coverage for Disko."

"Harry," Remus said in alarm. "You can't honestly think someone from Parliament is responsible for this?"

"I'm not sure what to think, Remus. We brought over a thousand people here to the Weyr and revealed the secret of the dragons. Not two weeks later, we find a booby trapped camera spying on us," Harry retorted. "My responsibility is to protect my dragons and my riders. I don't know who's behind it or what they want, and that makes me nervous. Until I know more, I have to assume someone means to harm us."

He walked over to a wall and unrolled his map, then he wandlessly stuck it to the wall. "The large X, here," he said, pointing, "indicates where this camera was found. As you can see, it had a view of all of the hangar fronts and the theater, the kitchen hall and so on."

"That means someone could have seen the Parliament members visiting," Ronan said. "And maybe the dragons."

Harry turned to look at him, then he slowly nodded.

"No, not the dragons," Lee said firmly. "They have to want to be seen by a camera or be so distracted that they are accidentally photographed. It took me and Soranth three days before he'd appear on video. Most of the time you have to tell the dragon he's being filmed or he simply won't be visible. Its like an instinctive thing with them."

"I forgot about that," admitted Ronan.

Harry looked taken aback. "So had I. So they would have only seen us and the members of Parliament, but not the dragons."

Harry looked down for a moment, considering things. "There is little we can do right now except take some precautions. We have a hatching coming up in a couple weeks to worry about so I want everyone to be on your guard. If you're on patrol and you spot someone, I want to know about it."

"Harry?"

He looked up and noted Susan standing up. "Yes, Sue?"

"About the hatching. I've been considering the number of riders you spoke about. The simple fact is, we don't have enough room in the Weyr for all the housing we'd need, especially if we continue to use the same kind of housing we've been using. I think we need to rethink our housing needs," she said firmly.

"How so?" asked Ronan.

"Right now we're using old RAF housing," Susan said. "Our houses have a small kitchen, some of us have extra bedrooms we're not using. What I think we need to do is simplify things. A rider needs a bath, bed and room for their dragon. With the exception of the yourself and some other special people in the Weyr, most of us can survive without a kitchen or extra bed rooms that aren't being used.

"On Pern, Weyrs were carved right into the rock. There was a chamber for the dragon and a sleeping chamber for the rider, plus a chamber for private needs. The only variations to this were the Weyrleader's chambers and the Weyrwoman's chambers, both of which had room for two dragons and extra rooms for meetings and such. Since we have a communal kitchen, we can cut that out entirely. More bedrooms would be necessary when we start having children, but the bachelors among us don't need the larger housing."

Harry nodded. "All right, Sue. I can certainly see what you're driving at. Ask among the riders for suggestions and lets see if we can't put together a basic list of requirements. Then we'll talk with Lord Mills about taking it to an engineer to design it."

Sue nodded and sat down again.

"Does anyone have anything else?" Harry asked.

After a moment's silence he nodded. "Wing Leaders, I want to see you in my office at ten to go over a different patrol schedule," he called, then he turned and began to walk from the hall.

"Harry, stop!"

He skidded to a halt and smiled at May, who was coming up to him. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"To my office?" he said, suddenly feeling like a kid again.

"Not until you've had some breakfast," she said firmly. "You're no good to us if you get sick and you could stand to put on a few kilos."

He blinked and let her lead him over to where Remus and Mildred were sitting.

**#10 Downing Street, London, February 10th...**

The door opened and Prime Minister Major nodded in greeting. "Lord Mills, excellent, now we can begin."

James Mills nervously took a seat and nodded to Lord Kennewick and Anthony Blair, but the third gentleman was a mystery to him. "Lord Mills, allow me to introduce you to Sir Basil Rathbone, the head of our MI5."

James leaned across the coffee table and shook Sir Basil's hand, then he leaned back and looked expectantly at his Prime Minister.

"First, let's start off with a piece of good news," Major said. "I received a message from Dumbledore, who is currently in New Delhi. He tells me that the battle at Othonoi resulted in decimating both the Italian and Greek Wizarding Defense Forces. According to the information he received via Jochim Stebbins, the head of the ICW, both forces have been so badly damaged that we're looking at a temporary ceasefire because they have little to nothing left to fight with.

"Dumbledore says he has received commitments from nearly every country he's visited thus far. The notable exceptions are some of the Middle Eastern nations, Russia, Spain and a few others. He feels that imposing an embargo on Italy and Greece should be enough to bring them to the table. As it stands, neither country can survive for long without their import/export income."

"Good news for once," James said with a smile.

"Yes, it's the first break we've had in a while. Now, I've held off having this meeting because I wanted to be sure of our facts first. Anthony, this will be news to you, but please, bear with me," Major said.

"Just over a week ago, a dragon on patrol near the Weyr spotted something unusual and went to investigate. What he found was truly troubling. They found a video recording device aimed directly at the Weyr. And the device was booby trapped with enough explosives to destroy the hardware and injure whoever was playing with it."

John Major looked at Sir Basil. "Sir Basil, I believe you have something to tell us about the device that was found?"

The head of MI5 nodded. "Yes. Our boys in the tech branch took it apart. We were able to recover a good video tape from the unit. There was little of value on the tape, other than watching people come and go. We did notice a number of times when riders would suddenly become visible as if they dropped from the sky, which has my analysts mighty puzzled."

Sir Basil grinned knowingly and Major motioned for him to continue.

"The unit itself is a self contained video recording device. It's primarily used in the private investigation fields for long term surveillance, although a military version of this unit has been purchased by several nations, including us. In this particular case, the unit was made by Toshiba and sold to a front company in Hong Kong, which claims to still have the unit. Station M in Hong Kong is investigating that connection for us.

"This is the first inkling we've had of the PRC having purchased units like this.

"The explosive consisted of four hundred grams of military grade plastic explosive and it matches the chemical composition of a plant in Georgia, one of the former Soviet block nations," Sir Basil said, then he grimaced. "That is the good news. The bad news, I'm afraid, is more disturbing. We had an ongoing effort to keep an eye on two suspected Chinese agents that have set up shop in the city of Campbeltown, and my officers categorically state their targets had nothing to do with the placement of this device."

John Major's eyebrows rose when Georgia was mentioned. "You're telling me the Russians did this?"

"No, sir," Sir Basil said firmly. "I'm telling you that there is conflicting evidence and we can't pin point the exact origin of the device or who put it there. The fact that a dummy corporation received the unit in Hong Kong suggests our Chinese friends, and they have been known to use former Soviet state hardware and supplies from time to time. Unfortunately, there's no definitive proof either way."

"If it is the Chinese, then we have someone sniffing around the Weyr that we don't know about. What else have you got?" asked Major. He was not happy and it showed to everyone present.

Sir Basil consulted his notes. "On the thirty first of January, we noted a massive upswing of signal traffic from the Chinese Embassy. Our signals people had been working on their latest cypher, but they haven't broken it and may never do so. Judging from the raw traffic, a large message was sent from the Embassy on the thirty first. It's been followed up by a series of messages back and forth between the Embassy and Beijing. I would guess that someone is passing considerable information back and forth. We also noted two extra couriers carrying diplomatic bags, one leaving and one arriving, in the last week, which is unusual for the Chinese, who normally keep a strict schedule."

Major grunted in acknowledgment and then he turned to Mills. "What is the Weyrleader's reaction to this?"

"Pragmatic," James replied. "The Weyrleader is naturally worried and he's increased both the number of riders on patrol and the range of their patrols. He wants desperately to believe this is the Chinese or some other group, but he also recognized that we brought over one thousand members of Parliament through the Weyr over the course of a week and some of them were less than thrilled to learn about dragons."

"It doesn't help that they are about to go into another hatching," James said softly in conclusion. "The atmosphere in the Weyr is tense. The idea that someone would booby trap the camera has rattled a number of riders."

"And the Weyrleader?" pressed Major.

James smiled, "He's hoping that I can return to the Weyr today and tell him that this isn't the result of some unhappy member of Parliament sharing his information with someone he shouldn't have shared it with."

"If I may, Prime Minister?" asked Sir Basil.

John Major glanced over at Sir Basil and nodded gratefully. He was not looking forward to trying to explain this.

"Lord Mills, you may return to the Weyr and say with certainty that this is not a case of industrial espionage or something homegrown. The very presence of a surveillance device that should be in Hong Kong and loaded with Semtex from a former Soviet block nation suggests that this isn't a local effort. I will rely on your discretion what you reveal to the Weyrleader, but you can assure him this isn't something we are taking lightly."

"No, it isn't," Lord Kennewick added. "We had plans to increase the guard force, but we are going to advance the time table on that now. I expect we'll double the guard force before the month is out. We're also planning on putting Campbeltown on the national command net, which will allow them to alert us quicker in times of trouble, or for us to alert them. Right now, Major Atkins has to rely on the regular phone system and that can be easily compromised.

"I know it hasn't been said yet, but I can see the writing on the wall. In a different world, the dragons would be considered a national asset. As it stands, perhaps the best way I can put it is that they are akin to one of our closer commonwealth allies and we must act to protect them," Kennewick concluded.

John Major nodded thoughtfully. He looked over to see Tony Blair nodding as well. The dragons represented a major economic change and had they not been intelligent they might have considered them as property.

"Tony? How is Labor taking it?" asked Major.

"Surprisingly well, actually. There are a great many excited people in my party who can see the possibilities," Blair replied. He paused and looked up for a moment. "In fact, I don't know of a single person who came away from meeting the dragons and wasn't excited by what they had learned. We know that you've only shown one possible aspect of these beings, but the economic possibilities are staggering. We're looking at the creation of whole new industries and Britain stands to benefit by that."

Major nodded with a sour look on his face. He wished he could say the same, but there were some truly narrow minded people in his Conservative party, including one MP who had sent him a memo stating that the dragons represented a danger to the spiritual soul of the nation because they were godless beings.

He pushed the domestic issue away. "Basil? What is your read on the Chinese intentions?" he asked.

Sir Basil scowled. He hated being asked to foretell the future! "I think it will be cautious," he said slowly. "But we need to remember who seems to be running their operation here. Colonel Jin Tan Mu is a hatchet man with a reputation for ruthless action. I think that, officially, the Chinese will adopt a wait and see attitude. But I also think that their man on the ground is a loose cannon who may decide to take action on his own if he can muster enough muscle."

Major smiled at his old friend. "Basil, you can't have it both ways. Lay your cards on the table."

Basil sighed. "Fine," he said heavily. "What I think is that their hatchet man may end up going rogue on them. We did a psychological profile on the man and he's borderline manic obsessive about magic. I seriously doubt the Chinese will want to start something with us, but their Colonel Jin Tan Mu is another story. I can only hope he gets recalled before he tries something."

"What can one man do?" asked Mills.

Basil turned and looked at James with a hard eye. "That's just it. He's not one man. He's a man with a team of trained professionals and he can get his hands on explosives, weapons, whatever he needs. I won't say he can wipe out the Weyr, but he can do an awful lot of damage. Imagine what the Weyr's reaction to that would be? Do you want to wake up some morning to find the dragons are burning Beijing to the ground?"

James paled and glanced over to Lord Kennewick, who nodded grimly in agreement to Basil's words. His analysts had taken data from Sir Robert and postulated that even with modern fighters, dragons might still be able to come out on top, thanks to their superior spatial abilities and their ability to go Between.

"The Weyrleader wouldn't want to do that," John Major said, "but I know he'd protect his dragons and he would react to an attack. Gentlemen, our job is to make sure that doesn't become a reality, either by protecting the dragons from an attack or by preventing the attack from happening in the first place."

"Kick the Colonel out," Tony Blair suggested and a number of people turned to look at him. He shrugged. "If the Colonel is the wild card, declare him Persona non grata and be done with it."

"On what charge?" asked Sir Basil, "He's done nothing to deserve it."

Major frowned. "Doing this is going to create a big stink in the press. The Chinese may retaliate by sending our Ambassador home."

"Why not leave this option open for now and concentrate on putting more resources on the ground around the Weyr?" asked Kennewick.

Major nodded slowly. "I agree. It's a good idea Tony, but let's exhaust our other options first."

Tony Blair nodded. He was glad his idea wasn't dismissed out of hand.

"There is a possibility," Major mused softly and everyone turned to him waiting for him to continue. "What if we inform the Chinese? We have been planning on telling everyone anyway, so why not tell them early? Give them something different to think about, while at the same time letting them know we are aware of their activities?"

"I don't need to tell you what I think of that idea," Sir Basil grumbled. He was against the idea of telling anyone about the dragons.

"No," Major said with a smile. He knew his friend had adopted the institutional paranoia that the head of MI5 usually had.

"We'd need to confer with the Weyrleader first," James said softly.

"Of course, but what do you think, James?" pressed Major.

James looked down for a moment then he looked at Major. "I know first hand what Harry would do if someone attacked the Weyr. I saw his response when the Kenyan Weyr was attacked with tanks and we all know of his response when Balmoral was attacked. If revealing the existence of dragons to the Chinese prevents a disaster, then let's do it."

"You really think it would be that bad?" asked Tony Blair in shock.

James turned to look at Blair. "Sir, in Kenya, the Weyrleader melted three Soviet made tanks. What's left of those tanks stands barely four feet high. What remains of their crews are still inside the melted slag heaps. Then he ordered his dragons to capture the Wizards responsible for the death of eight dragons and take them Between."

Tony Blair looked puzzled by that last statement.

"Tony," Major said, trying to ease his confusion, "he ordered the dragons to take the Wizards Between and leave them there. He personally did the same at Balmoral Castle to the witch that was directing the attack."

Tony paled and swallowed uncomfortably. He had met Harry and was surprised to discover he was capable of such ruthless behavior. He had spent five days at the Weyr helping his party leadership come to grips with the new situation and during that time he had spoken with the Weyrleader many times, trying to get his measure. He struck Tony as being firmly committed to his dragons. Otherwise, he was an affable lad who was willing to listen and learn from others. This was another aspect of the Weyrleader that he hadn't known about and it called for further consideration.

"Thank you for clarifying yourself, Lord Mills," he said quietly.

Major turned to Lord Mills. "James, return to the Weyr and explain to the Weyrleader what steps we are taking to ensure the safety of his people. Tell him we have a high degree of confidence that the camera was not in any way related to our plans to announce the dragons to the world and those plans are still in place. Sound him out about talking to the Chinese early and explain our reasoning."

James nodded. "I will. Thank you, sir." He bent and began to gather his papers.

"Lord Mills?"

James turned to Tony Blair. "Mr. Blair?"

"Are you a paid employee of the Weyr?"

James smiled. "No, sir. The Weyrleader has offered a salary on several occasions but I turned it down to avoid a conflict of interest. I volunteered to help them because they came to me and my lands first. I suppose I'm enough of a politician to know that my help has earned me a spot in the history books, but it was the right thing to do. Now I help the Weyr because helping them helps Britain."

"I see," replied Tony Blair. "Thank you for your candor." He didn't know the man very well, but he thought he might be worth keeping him on as Weyr liaison if he won the election like he thought he would.

James nodded and left the room.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, February 15th...**

An exhausted Harry climbed into his bed. He tried to hide his smile when May slid under the covers from the other side. Both were very tired from what had been an extremely hectic day. Another forty dragons were now in training from today's hatching.

"Long day," May said, snuggling into Harry's side.

"Too long. That had to be the longest hatching yet. Eight hours for one hundred and twenty eggs to hatch," he replied.

"I'm glad we didn't stay at Disko," she said. "I like it there, but this is home."

He grinned in the dimly lit room. "Well, with all of Condron and Maziang present, plus all of Campbeltown, there wasn't room for everyone. They'll make do. We left them with Wing two, plus ten riders from each of the other Weyrs."

With forty riders from Maziang and another forty from Condron, then the eighty from Campbeltown, plus the candidates and guests, Disko had been stuffed to the gills. It was another area that they would have to address, but Harry wanted to consider other locations for the hatching. The volcano underneath the Weyr was safe for now, thanks to the Goblins, but he knew they would need an alternate location someday.

She nodded, then yawned and snuggled a little closer. "There's over two hundred of us now," she murmured.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" he replied. "A little over a year ago I was the first rider in millennia."

"Harry, I think it's safe to say that the Pern time line is gone. Even if we were to go to Pern now, it would still be with dragons and riders. That makes you the first rider, ever. The older dragons will remember Sean Connell, but your riders and your dragons will remember Harry Potter, the first Weyrleader."

He shrugged uncomfortably. He didn't really like to make a big deal out of his accomplishments. "So what do you think of the idea of talking to the Chinese? It might make Maziang's life easier," he asked, trying to change the subject.

She propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him. She wore one of his t-shirts and she smiled when she saw his eyes drop to follow the sway of her breasts. She knew he watched her intently but when they talked he always made eye contact. They had been together often enough now for her to become accustomed to being wanted and not feel dirty about it.

_He's changing the subject again. Try to tell him that you think he's special and he starts getting uncomfortable,_ she thought with a small sigh. "I'm not sure. Politics was never something that interested me very much. I think the big question is, do you think you can convince them that dragons aren't a danger to them and to leave Maziang alone?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Everything I've read about them says they can be a very stubborn people who are motivated almost entirely by self interest. If I tell them about Maziang, they may tear Tibet apart trying to locate it, and you know I won't put up with them harming a dragon or rider. Hell, I won't let them harm any of the villagers of Maziang, either. We owe those people. On the other hand, if I can convince them it would be in their self interest to leave Maziang alone, they could turn out to be as useful as the British."

"I suppose we should be lucky that Maziang is the only Weyr in Chinese territory," May mused.

Harry grunted in acknowledgment. "Yes, the Chinese wizards were hiding so deeply they couldn't maintain a reserve without the communists learning about it. We got lucky that way."

"So what happens if you tell their Ambassador and don't tell him about Maziang, or keep its location secret until we feel they can be trusted?" May asked.

"That is an option but it wouldn't guarantee Maziang's safety. The Chinese wizards know it exists and they have a rough idea of where it is," Harry said.

"Have you spoken to Lobsang about this?" she asked.

"Not yet. I was still kicking the idea around in my head."

"Maybe you should," she said, then she yawned again.

"I think you're right. I'll ask for the Weyrleaders to come to a meeting tomorrow," he answered. "We better get to sleep."

"Hmmm," she replied already drifting off.

"_Cheki?"_ he sent sleepily.

"_I'm taking care of it now, Harry. They will be here for an early afternoon meeting. I asked Lobsang to __bring White Eyes,"_ Chekiath replied.

He nodded with a slight smile. _"G'night then,"_ he sent.

Chekiath opened one eye and looked at the door to Harry's bedroom. _"Good night, my rider. Sleep well."_

**Chinese Embassy London, February 16th...**

The knock at the door disturbed Colonel Jin Tan Mu from the plans he had laid out on his desk. "Come!" he snapped.

The door opened and Wei Fong entered, carrying a message sealed in an envelope. "Comrade Colonel, this message arrived just a short while ago via special courier from Beijing," he said, offering the red and white striped envelope.

"This must be the approval notice. The last I heard, the Minister had to present my plan to assault this facility to the Politburo," exclaimed the Colonel.

"Then I shall leave you to your message, Comrade Colonel," replied the station chief.

"Stay," commanded the Colonel. "If this is the approval I sought, then we will need to move quickly."

Wei Fong nodded and stood just inside the door, far enough away from the desk so that he could not see the contents of the message.

Colonel Jin Tan Mu carefully opened the envelope with a knife and withdrew a single sheet of paper. Wei Fong watched his expression tighten slightly.

The Colonel crumpled the message in a single fist that was white with anger, then he stood and took a deep breath. "The Politburo has decided that Campbeltown bears additional watching, but I have been ordered to station five in Athens. It seems that while the British may have started using wizards and magic, the Greeks have had a nuclear accident which may have been magically enhanced.

"As to my plan to assault the British facility, the Politburo has taken it under 'advisement'," he said, nearly spitting the last word out.

Wei Fong carefully schooled his features and said nothing. The Colonel's displeasure was obvious, and it was directed towards some very powerful people. Wei Fong considered the matter carefully and decided that this was a matter that should be reported to his superiors most carefully.

"Obtain travel papers so that I may leave by tomorrow," the Colonel said. "I shall return to the Embassy quarters to pack. Send a girl from communications. I might want to encode some dispatches before I leave."

"Of course, Comrade Colonel. It has been an honor to assist you," Wei Fong replied neutrally.

The Colonel glared at the man, but he knew he now had little authority here. With a sigh, he started packing away his plans into his safe. They would remain there until he returned, or until Wei Fong removed them. With luck, he would be back shortly. The message really wasn't a hit on his career. Someone from on high had decided to intervene and if the Greeks were mixing magic and nuclear technology, they would have to be stopped before the British.

**Social Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, February 16th...**

Harry stood when the door opened and Lobsang guided Master Jangbu into the room. He smiled broadly at the pair. Skip and Kat from Condron were already present, along with Jasper Brady, who was talking quietly with Lord Mills in a corner.

"Lobsang, Master Jangbu, I am grateful you could attend," Harry said.

Master Jangbu waved a hand and said something softly.

"Master Jangbu says that you are The Weyrleader. We would have come at your summons no matter the circumstances," Lobsang translated. "In truth, I had hoped to find a reason to visit your fine Weyr again, Weyrleader. I have an issue which arose that could use the help of your beast mistress."

Harry blinked in surprise. "Beast mistress?" he echoed. He glanced over at Ronan, who shrugged. He was as confused as Harry was.

"_My rider means Trandieth's rider, Weyrleader,"_ Jekrith announced.

"Luna? Chekiath would you ask Luna to join us?" Harry said aloud.

Lobsang nodded gratefully and his eyes glazed over. A minute later, two of his riders entered carrying a wicker cage suspended between two poles. Harry blinked and stared at the strange creature.

"We caught this attempting to get into one of our greenhouses, but we don't know what it is," Lobsang offered.

Harry stared at the creature. It was electric blue and had huge flattened feet with half inch claws. The ears suggested some kind of bunny, but the four inch saber teeth said this animal was not a carrot eater.

Luna stepped into the room and skidded to a halt, her eyes centered on the wicker cage. "Where did you find that?" she whispered.

"That? Do you know what it is, Luna?"

She shook her head, "I thought Daddy had made it up, that it wasn't real!"

"Luna," Harry said in exasperation, "what is it?"

"It's a Himalayan Sabertooth Glacier Bunny. It uses its teeth to chip its way through the ice to reach food that's been frozen. Where did you find it?" asked Luna.

"It was trying to break into one of our greenhouses, honored beast mistress," Lobsang replied. "We have never seen it before."

"No," Luna agreed, "you wouldn't normally. The greenhouse must contain something it wants. Daddy said they like cotton candy and cabbages. Even I know cotton candy doesn't grow above five thousand feet, so I thought he was kidding me. Are there cabbages in your greenhouse?"

"Yes, we grow much cabbage," Lobsang replied.

Luna smiled. "Then give this little fellow some cabbage and set him free. If you're lucky, he'll stick around. They're known for bringing good luck to people. They aren't dangerous, but their teeth can be used to defend themselves and they can be irritable during their spring mating season."

Lobsang nodded and spoke to Master Jangbu, who nodded and said something in reply. "Master Jangbu says his great grandfather told him of the sky colored rabbit that brings luck, but even he had never seen it. We will do as you say and give it some food then set it free. Thank you, Beast Mistress," Lobsang said, bowing low to Luna.

Harry was surprised to see Luna blushing heavily and he was unsure if it was because of what he called her or his bowing to her.

Lobsang turned to his riders and issued an order in their language. They picked up the cage and removed it from the room.

"Thank you, Luna," Harry said with a smile. He was pleased that the issue had been resolved and even more pleased that she hadn't asked to keep the rabbit with four inch long teeth. He was certain he would be dreaming of that bunny tonight.

Luna smiled and walked over to where the beverages were, then she glanced around. "Oh, you're having a meeting? Should I leave then?"

"No," Harry said. "You often have insight that's helpful, so grab your drink and have a seat."

She smiled and went for her tea, then took a seat next to Ronan.

Harry waited until Lobsang had seated Master Jangbu and served him with a cup of tea before sitting. Once everyone was ready, they turned their attention to him.

"Almost two weeks ago, we found a video camera that was taping events in the Weyr. It was partially hidden and it contained an explosive charge that would have destroyed the camera as well as possibly killing anyone opening the unit.

"The British Government feels there is good reason to suspect this is part of an effort on the part of the People's Republic of China to find out what is happening here in Campbeltown. Part of the reason for this is that several months ago we exposed a Chinese spy who was working at NASA. The spy was caught here in Campbeltown, obliviated of his knowledge of dragons and of the Weyr and turned over to the Yanks, who brought him up on charges.

Harry turned to look directly at Lobsang. "I have been asked to consider telling the Chinese about dragons earlier than we anticipated. I will not take such a measure without consulting with my fellow Weyrleaders, and in particular, Lobsang, who is the leader of the only Weyr within Chinese territory."

Harry paused and waited. He had spoken slowly and paused often to let Lobsang translate for Jangbu. The man's expression grew pinched as Lobsang spoke.

When Lobsang looked at Harry again, Harry smiled reassuringly. "Lobsang, I will not reveal the existence of Maziang to the Chinese, but you know the Chinese Wizards know of your existence, even if they can't approach the village or the Weyr. I will not ask you to leave land you have known as home for hundreds of years. So, there is my problem. Do I tell the Chinese or not?"

Jangbu listened to Lobsang for a moment, then he spoke rapidly. "Master Jangbu says that now or later, the problem is the same. If the Weyr is to thrive, it must be known to the world. We always knew we would have enemies, but by being known, our enemies and our friends will multiply. The trick is to have more friends than enemies."

Harry nodded slowly. "Yes, revealing dragons will make both our enemies and our friends increase. I will agree to the British suggestion, but I will not reveal Maziang to the Chinese. Let them prove themselves first."

Harry turned to Lobsang. "If the Chinese come against Maziang as enemies, you are to take your dragons and your people and flee to Disko or to Campbeltown. And once our people are safe, we riders will decide how to deal with the Chinese. If they come as friends, we will welcome them as friends."

Lobsang grinned at the reference to 'our people'. It was obvious that Harry considered all of Maziang's people part of the Weyr and not just the riders.

"They would be welcome at Condron," Skip said. Kat nodded eagerly in agreement with her co-leader.

"I know they would be, Skip," Harry replied. "But Maziang, unlike Campbeltown or your Condron, has existed for hundreds of years. The people of Maziang deserve to see what a working Weyr can do for their prosperity. I will not disrupt that unless they're in danger."

Harry glanced over at James, who looked alarmed by what Harry was saying. Jasper Brady looked equally upset.

"Gentlemen, relax. The Chinese will be treated as they treat us. If they welcome us, they'll be welcome. If they don't, then we'll see what our options are. I'm not looking for a fight, I'm looking to preserve Maziang as a Weyr. They are our people and worthy of our concern and care. I won't leave them to deal with this on their own," Harry said.

James relaxed a little. He couldn't really find fault with what Harry was saying.

"Harry?"

He turned. "Yes, Luna?"

"Maziang is well warded, but it wouldn't hurt to ask the Ward Master at Shangri La to see if it can be improved upon," she said dreamily.

He stared at her for a long moment, then he turned to Lobsang. "Can you take care of that or should I contact them?"

Master Jangbu spoke rapidly and Lobsang looked at Jangbu, then he nodded rapidly. "Master Jangbu says that the people of Shangri La would not openly welcome a stranger to their midst, even one riding a dragon. He says that he was a child when he watched their Ward Master put the wards in place, but that they would be more willing to listen to the Senior Dragon Handler than they would a Weyrleader."

Lobsang looked fearfully at Harry for a moment, but he relaxed when Harry smiled back at him. Harry walked over to Master Jangbu and he took one of his hands in his own. "Master Jangbu," he said softly. "Your love for dragons shines as brightly as the sun and it is what sets you and your people apart. I would take it as a personal favor if you would speak to the Ward Masters of Shangri La. If they need payment, the Weyr will pay to protect our people and our dragons."

Jangbu looked in Lobsang's direction and the young Weyrleader translated Harry's words for him. As he did his grin broadened and he gripped Harry's hands tightly. He might be old and blind, but there was no sense of frailty in that grip.

"Master Jangbu says you honor him, Weyrleader, and he will prepare for his journey to Shangri La as soon as he returns to Maziang," Lobsang said, then added, "I will personally see he has an easy journey Weyrleader."

"Thank you, Lobsang," Harry said, releasing the old man's hand. He glanced over towards Luna, who was smiling brightly at him and he shot her a grateful look, then he turned to Skip and Kat.

"We didn't get much time to talk yesterday and I know you're probably as tired as I am from the hatching. I won't tell you how to run your Weyr, but I think the lesson here is obvious. There are people out there who are not the friends of dragons. We must guard against them."

"I'll talk to Captain Wilson about it, Harry," Kat said softly.

"Thank you. I'll feel better knowing we're all aware of this and working on it," Harry said with a tired smile.

"James," he said, turning to Lord Mills, "would you ask the Prime Minister to arrange for our meeting with the Chinese Ambassador?"

"I'll call him after we're done here," James replied. "And thank you, Harry. For what it's worth, I think you're making good decisions to protect Maziang and still deal with the Chinese."

After everyone had left, Harry found himself back in his office, staring at a wall calendar in confusion.

"_Harry? What troubles you? Is it Maziang?"_ asked Cheki.

"No, mate," he replied, then he turned to eye his dragon. "Shouldn't some of the males have started their shagging flights by now?"

Chekiath turned to look at Harry and he rumbled slightly. _"Why do you ask? I don't like males. Do you?"_

Harry blinked. _"What? No! I mean it's been over a year, Cheki. Some of the breeds should have started __by now, shouldn't they?"_

"_You would be right, for non-bonded dragons. I waited until the urge was too strong to stop myself. The others know the females will rise in only a few weeks and are trying to wait until then. We know it would be easier for the Weyr if it happened within a short span of time,"_ Chekiath replied, then he continued on more thoughtfully, _"It is not an easy thing, waiting, because the urge is great, and you will need to understand this will make the riders edgy like you were."_

Harry sat down on his chair and shook his head. "I wondered why you rose late. I didn't know it could be controlled," he blurted.

"_We can, but not easily. I mentioned it to you once before, but we were both affected by my waiting. I don't think you understood me then because of how the bond was affecting you,"_ replied Chekiath.

Harry nodded, relieved that he still had time before having to worry about it. He made a note in his book to talk to Sir Robert about the dragons restraining themselves. Sir Robert worried that some might argue that being bound to an instinct was a sign of being an animal and not an intelligent being.

Redefining the word 'people' to cover both humans and dragons was one of the things that Sir Robert was attempting to do with what little spare time he had.

**ICW Headquarters, Paris, France, February 18th...**

Jochim Stebbins watched from his high perch as the members filed into the room. Despite his best efforts, he had been able to move the meeting forward by only two days. Too many delegates had prior commitments they could not put off.

As usual, the delegates ambled into the room, but there was a tenseness about them as they spoke in hushed whispers. Rumors were rife about the real reason for the meeting, but only those who had allied themselves with the British knew what was happening. And no one but the British knew the scope of the cooperation they had attained through Albus' efforts.

Stebbins glanced upwards and the Hit Wizard in his booth above the chamber signaled his readiness. Stebbins had briefed him personally about what he needed to do today.

The doors were just starting to swing shut on the Chamber of Deliberations when Albus Dumbledore scurried through them. His arms were full of parchments and a young red headed man followed close behind, carrying a case and another armload of parchments. Albus had co-opted Percy Weasley to act as his assistant for this meeting.

The Supreme Mugwump watched as the few late comers hurried to their boxes. When they were all seated, he picked up a large rock and banged it against his desk three times.

"Delegates," he said firmly, "I have called you here because we are faced with a grave crisis. Two members of our organization have brought us to the brink of exposure to the muggle world."

Stebbins signaled to the Hit Wizard and a pair of yellow bubbles enveloped the Italian and Greek Delegate boxes. Both sets of delegates stood in alarm, but their protests went unheard. They were now isolated, unable to be heard, but able to hear everything.

"I will now turn over the floor to the delegate from Britain, who first alerted me to the crisis that now confronts us," Stebbins said.

Albus stood and with a slight smirk, he bowed towards the Russian delegation. "In order to see protocol served, my companion is Percy Weasley, a fine upstanding wizard and my assistant for this meeting of the ICW."

Albus looked around and his expression turned grim. "Not too long ago I was invited to a meeting at the Muggle Prime Minister's office where the subject of the conversation concerned the war between Italy and Greece. The battle on the Greek island of Othonoi was seen by muggle machines and of course it was impossible to hide the more than ten thousand muggle dead.

"My Prime Minister was rightly incensed by this. Both Greece and Italy are economic and military partners with the United Kingdom, and they know that both countries are not in control of their governments. The muggles know that wizards control those countries."

Dumbledore turned to glare at the delegations from both countries. The men inside the bubbles were turning red with anger. He looked away and his gaze swept the delegates. "Delegates, my Prime Minister ordered me here today to tell you this is unacceptable. My Prime Minister has instructed me to tell you that control of the Italian and Greek governments must be returned to the muggles and he has told me to inform you that if another attack occurs that injures muggles, he will call for a meeting of the NATO council and reveal the presence of the wizarding world to the muggles. And while NATO prepares a response to rescue their conquered allies, he call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations."

Albus paused and several delegation members shot to their feet shouting insults at Dumbledore. Percy watched the old man and couldn't help admire how he could stand there with so many yelling at him as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"Silence!" bellowed Stebbins.

Stebbins gestured and the hit wizard overhead started placing silencing bubbles over any delegation that was shouting. Dumbledore smiled benignly and watched the process. He had initiated it more than a few times himself, but it struck him as odd seeing it from the delegation floor.

He waited until the delegates had settled down and Stebbins had signaled him before continuing. "Delegates, I know you are upset, but please, listen instead of shouting. My Prime Minister is reacting to the actions of the Greek and Italians and he is not alone. I have met with delegates from the United States, Canada, South Africa, India, Japan, and Australia to name just a few, and all of them have had to deal with similar problems.

"There are far too many muggles to obliviate, and some, like my Prime Minister, are guarded by both wizard and muggle security forces," Albus said firmly, then he reached behind him and Percy scrambled to find a parchment which he thrust into Dumbledore's hand. "I have here a list of forty nations who have agreed to cease all import and export from Greece and Italy until such time as they cease hostilities and begin to negotiate a peace. These nations recognize the danger to themselves and to our world.

"I would hope that we insist the proper governments be restored in those two countries, but right now our greatest danger is this war of theirs. It must cease before it destroys us all."

Albus looked around and smiled grimly. "I would ask that those nations who have agreed that the Italian/Greek war must be stopped now be heard. Stand up here, and make your country's decision known."

Albus folded his arms and waited as more and more delegates stood. Soon it was apparent that a majority had already been achieved and both delegates from Italy and Greek paled with the realization that they were outnumbered and had no hope of putting an end to this interference.

Dumbledore carefully noted the apparent indifference of the Spanish delegates, who seemed unconcerned about the affair. Croaker had told him that they had indications that Spain might be behind some of the problems causing Italy and Greece to wage war on each other. Either the Spanish delegate was unaware of that, or he was a consummate actor.

Stebbins pounded his rock against his desk and he nodded to Dumbledore. "Thank you, Mr. Dumbledore. Delegates, before we began session, and at the command of my own minister, I drafted a proposal to impose an economic and travel embargo on Italy and Greece. Said embargo would remain in place until such time as the two warring parties have signed a peace treaty and have agreed to allow control of their muggle governments to pass back to the muggles where it belongs."

Albus looked up sharply at Stebbins in surprise, then he nodded to the man in gratitude. He was hoping someone would make that part of the package deal. He hadn't wanted it to seem like Britain was setting all of the terms.

"We strive to keep our world secret. Surely controlling the muggles is a certain way of being discovered. I offer this proposal up for debate, but before I drop the silencing barriers on our Italian and Greek delegates I would remind those gentlemen that they are to act in a civilized manner, or I will raise the barrier again."

Stebbins glared at the two delegate boxes until the occupants nodded unhappily. He gestured and the Hit Wizard above the chamber dropped the barriers. Both delegates shot to their feet.

"Does the delegate from Italy wish to address the delegates," asked Stebbins mildly.

The Italian delegate scowled at his Greek counterpart and nodded rapidly. "The Italian nation objects strongly to this unwarranted and unconscionable interference in our affairs. We have the right to defend ourselves from the vicious attacks by those Greek Bandits!"

"Bandits! You scum!" shouted the Greek delegate.

Instantly the silencing barriers snapped into position without any signal from the Mugwump. Stebbins looked up and nodded in appreciation to the hit wizard for anticipating his needs.

He glanced back to the delegates and noted someone new standing. It was Yoshi Masabe, the ICW delegate from Japan and one of the few mages in the membership. "I note the Japanese delegate wishes to speak," he said softly.

Yoshi Masabe bowed once to the Mugwump, then he looked around. "Honored delegates, my government is most unhappy with any conflict that spills over into the normal world. My minister was told by our Prime Minister that such an occurrence was unacceptable and his Majesty, the Emperor, was appalled that we would allow such a thing to take place. He had ordered twenty million dollars of his own money be spent on relief aid for the stricken muggles. But beyond that, we have allowed our race to be brought to the very brink of extinction."

He turned to Milton Brockton, the delegate from the United States. "Am I not correct in this Mr. Brockton?"

The American stood uneasily and nodded. "It it true. For a short time after the series of explosions destroyed part of the Greek island of Othonoi, the muggle military of the United States poised for a nuclear war. In that short span of a few hours, the world stood on the brink of extinction. We know now that the Russians, Chinese, British and Israelis also went to high alert."

Brockton sat. He was a new member, replacing Jasper Brady, and not used to addressing the ICW yet.

Masabe nodded in gratitude. "My friends, you ask who cares about the muggles, but I can speak from experience. I lived on the outskirts of Hiroshima on that fateful day in August 1945 when the Americans destroyed my city with a single bomb. I wept with my country for the children burned beyond recognition. I used my magic until I dropped from exhaustion and still could not heal everyone. Sixty thousand Japanese died in a matter of seconds. I would have died but I lived far enough away. As it was, my parents and family died in that terrible explosion. Wizards killed by muggles, just another set of unidentified bodies to be buried. Think of the power needed to kill so many and then understand that the muggles have such power.

"A single weapon did that, and now they have thousands of those weapons. We cannot allow any conflict to spread to the point that they become involved. We must make sure that our arguments remain among ourselves. Think of it, my friends. We have finally rivaled the muggles in their ability to kill by the thousands. Honestly, I do not think this is something we can be proud of."

"The nation of Japan and his Imperial Majesty support Dumbledore-san's efforts and we urge a speedy passing of Mugwump Stebbins' bill of embargo. I second the bill and call for a vote," Yoshi said, then he nodded to the Mugwump and sat.

Cries of "vote!" where shouted from all sides of the chamber and the Mugwump raised his hand, calling for silence.

"Delegates, if you are in favor of an economic and travel embargo against Greece and Italy, show your favor in the usual manner," Stebbins said.

Around the room, the trim of each box turned either blue or red depending upon the vote. Stebbins waited and silently counted as the boxes lit up. It was obvious there was much more blue than red.

"The bill carries," Stebbins said softly and yet it still carried to every corner of the large chamber. "Delegates, we will adjourn so that you may confer with your ministries. We will meet again in two days time to discuss the particulars and any future punitive measures we may have to resort to in order to force Greece and Italy into compliance."

Both the Greek and Italian delegates paled and shook with fury behind their silencing barriers, but there was little they could do. The world had spoken - make peace and give control back to the muggles or pay the price of being strangled economically.

**Hogsmeade School, Hogsmeade, Scotland, February 19th...**

Mrs. Early glanced out the window and smiled, seeing the carriages from Hogwarts coming around the bend in the road. At first, she had been skeptical of the idea of carriages, but since bringing in buses and keeping them working around so much magic was impractical, this was the best solution. The Hogwarts students were turning out to be a joy to teach. Having been limited to only magic for so long, they seemed eager to learn new things that they wouldn't have learned ordinarily.

The small school library was hard pressed to keep enough material on hand for the students and she had made several appeals to the Ministry for more books. Young children and young adult stories like the Chronicles of Narnia and Nancy Drew were heavily borrowed.

She was turning back to her desk when a strange roar alerted her to the danger.

The carriages where just pulling up to unload when four men appeared in the treeline. The dragons on the roof exploded into action, putting themselves between the carriages and the trees.

The men expected to come boiling out of the trees, cast a few curses and then portkey away.

Shocked to see dragons, Mrs. Early grabbed a hand bell she had been told would summon help and rang it as she ran out of the office towards the front of the building.

Neville and Hannah were helping some of the first year students from the carriages when the dragons appeared. Neville grabbed Hannah and pushed her back into the carriage as curses started to fly. "Get them out the other side," he ordered, then he pulled his wand and ran into a gap created by two of the dragons.

The dragons had forced the wizards to take cover and they were shooting spells, which splashed harmlessly against the dragons. He knelt next to one dragon, partially concealed by its large leg and he waved his wand for a moment while muttering under his breath. When he released his spell, the oak tree his target was hiding behind bent over and grabbed the man in its branches, entangling and imprisoning him.

"_Nice magic,"_ said the dragon.

Neville blinked and grinned back at the large creature.

By the time Mrs. Early had reached the doors, the younger students were streaming into the building and several of the older students had turned to help Neville and the dragons. Aurors started apparating in just as Wing one arrived overhead, summoned by the guard dragons.

That was the signal for the attackers to escape, but only three could reach their portkey. The man in the tree had been fully immobilized.

Harry landed Chekiath and he looked around. The area in front of the school was eerily silent, but he could hear numerous frightened students inside the school. "Cheki, tell the other guard dragons to be on alert," he said, then he slid down to the ground. He knew that both Wings three and four were now assembled and waiting to respond to a call for help.

Mrs. Early rushed up to Harry when she spotted him. "Weyrleader," she gasped.

He held up a hand and turned to one of the dragons. "Emlith, report please," he said tersely.

"_Weyrleader, the students were just exiting the carts when men appeared and tried to harm them. We moved to keep them away and were fighting with them until you arrived,"_ Elmith replied.

Harry nodded. "Anyone hurt?"

"_Siath had her wing pierced, but I don't think any students were hurt. Green Thumb captured one by making a tree grab him,"_ Elmith said.

Harry winced and turned to Chekiath. "Cheki we have a dragon with a damaged wing sail," he said, then he turned and shot a grateful glance to Neville, who stood nearby looking embarrassed by the dragon's comments.

"Good job, Neville," he said with a grin.

He turned back to Mrs. Early just as Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped up to the woman. "Mrs. Early, Mr. Potter," he said, glancing around. "I guess we got here too late to catch these..."

He stopped and stared at Harry, who was chuckling.

"I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Longbottom did manage to capture one. The others used a portkey as soon as my wing arrived."

Shacklebolt looked at Neville, who sheepishly pointed to a man struggling in the tree. He was tightly wrapped and trying to free up a hand so he could reach for his portkey.

Shacklebolt immediately stunned the man, then he nodded in gratitude to Neville. "Thank you, Mr Longbottom. Excellent spellwork. I didn't know Hogwarts taught that."

Neville's blush deepened. "They don't. It's a sculpting spell to make a tree or bush take a specific form. I just used it for something else."

Shacklebolt chuckled and shook his head. "That you did."

Harry turned away from the pair and went over to Mrs. Early, who looked very uncomfortable with the situation. "Mrs. Early?"

She squeaked in fright, then settled down. "Oh, I'm sorry, Weyrleader. It's just that, had it not been for your dragons, this could have been very bad."

"Mrs. Early," he said gently, "with your permission, I'd like to increase the number of dragons watching the school for a few days."

She nodded eagerly. "I confess, I wasn't thrilled when they first showed up, but they protected the students just like you promised they would. I would feel safer knowing they are here." she replied. "What.. what will happen to the injured dragon?"

Harry pointed to the area where May and Alice Wagner were busy working on Siath. "We'll take good care of her, Mrs Early. When the Weyrhealer says so, we'll bring her home to rest and get better."

She nodded and followed as he walked over to where May was working on Siath. "May? How is she?" he asked.

May looked up with a slight frown. "Something shot right through the wing sail. It's between the second and third patagium. We can patch it enough that it won't interfere with her flight home, but she's grounded for at least a month."

"_I wish you wouldn't do that,"_ Siath said softly.

May blinked and looked over the wing to where Siath was watching her. "What, patch your wing?"

"_No, refer to our parts with bat names,"_ replied the dragon.

May blinked and looked at the dragon carefully. "Siath, your wing and wing attachments resemble bat wings. How else are we to distinguish the various sections of your wing sails?"

"_Make up names if you must, but we are not flying rats,"_ Siath said with a quiet dignity.

Harry burst out laughing and May whipped around to glare at him. She had been working very hard to develop an anatomy she could teach to other Weyrhealers and didn't appreciate his laughter.

"Easy, May," Harry said, still chuckling. "I know what you're trying to do."

He turned to look at the dragon, "Siath, the Weyrhealer is still trying to develop information that she can pass on to other Weyrhealers. She means no insult. I'm sure that at some point she'll develop better names."

"_Very well, but we are not flying rats,"_ Siath replied firmly.

Shacklebolt walked over to where Harry stood. "We sent our prisoner back for a purging regime before we question him, but I don't think we'll get a lot from him. I've seen his type before - pure muscle and probably doesn't know who's signing his paycheck."

Harry nodded sourly. "At least none of the children were hurt this time," he replied. At that moment, eight more dragons appeared overhead and circled in for a landing on top of the school. "I am increasing the security here and elsewhere for now."

Shacklebolt gestured towards the injured dragon. "Is it bad?"

Harry shook his head. "The wound isn't bad. The problem is taking her Between with an open wound. May will pack it well and hopefully that will be good enough to get her home, where she can rest and recover. It's too far to fly straight through and the trip Between, even as brief as it is, can exacerbate an injury."

Shacklebolt nodded and looked up to the roof where the eight dragons were settling in. "Thank you for that. I don't have enough people to watch every school."

Harry's expression darkened. "I promised no more children would be hurt if I could help it. The dragons want to help protect them."

Shacklebolt nodded and stepped away. His people were transporting their prisoner and he had to go get things ready to deal with him. Hopefully they would get some information from him. Despite having an inside man who could tip him off about attacks, he was ignorant of what support Bunniford was getting, either in terms of people, or money and from who.

Harry walked back over to where Elmith stood. "You and your team did very well, Elmith. The children were saved and one of the attackers was captured."

"_It would have been easier to flame them, Weyrleader. I do not like holding back like that when children are in danger,"_ the dragon rumbled.

Harry frowned. "No, nor do I. Hopefully, they'll either learn to attack elsewhere or the aurors will learn enough to arrest some."

"Weyrleader?"

He turned and saw Alejandro Croaker standing nearby. "Is there a problem?" Croaker asked.

Harry shook his head. "Not really, Mr. Croaker. Elmith didn't like holding back when fighting off the attack. I'm afraid I have to agree with him. It doesn't take much effort to fire a killing curse and have it hit a student. I do worry that someone might die because we didn't fight as hard as we could."

Croaker grunted in agreement. "It's a risk we have to take. We know of a small group of people, but there's a lot more out there than what we know about. Hopefully the man they picked up today has some information we can use. In the meantime, all we can do is hope our best is good enough."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I understand. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Croaker shot him a grin. "I better run. I want to sit in on the first round of questioning. Thank your dragons for us please."

Harry nodded and walked over to Chekiath. With practiced ease he was up and in his place. "How much longer before Siath can be moved?"

"_May says another ten minutes. She wants the bandage paste to set some more before going Between,"_ Chekiath replied.

"Very well, let's get the wing aloft. We'll do a sweep of the forest just in case there's someone else hiding out until we leave."

"_Yes, Harry,"_ Chekiath replied, then he bugled once and reared up on his hind legs while the Wing one riders scrambled back onto their dragons. Less than thirty seconds later, the wing was airborne and flying just over the tree tops.

**#10 Downing Street, London, February 21st...**

Dumbledore, Croaker and Sir William O'Hearny filed into the room. Albus absently noted that Lord Kennewick and Tony Blair were talking quietly in one corner.

John Major looked up and smiled at the new comers. "Just the men we wanted to see. Albus! How was your trip?" he called, waving them to the settee for drinks before settling in.

Dumbledore smiled. He liked this muggle who controlled so much of the nation. "Very productive, Mr. Prime Minister."

"Excellent. Help yourselves to a drink and let's get started, shall we?"

Lord Kennewick and Tony Blair took seats facing the long couch now occupied by the two Wizards and the Deputy Minister of Magic.

"Cyril, why don't you start. We'll get to Albus' report in a bit," Major said after consulting a notepad.

Lord Kennewick nodded. "Sir Basil asked me to report that his department has noted the departure of that Chinese hatchet man. He departed Heathrow on the seventeenth, bound for Athens. The photo we managed to obtain of him boarding an Olympic airline jet bound for Athens showed him looking rather unhappy. Sir Basil suspects that he may have received orders that he didn't care for.

"Meanwhile, MI5 continues to monitor the Chinese nationals who've set up shop in the city of Campbeltown. Efforts continue to attempt to locate that third agent that was spotted by the camera, but as Sir Basil points out, he may have fled the region entirely. MI5 is checking outgoing passenger manifests for any names of interest, but so far they haven't picked up on anything."

Major made a mark on his pad and looked up. "So, Sir Basil feels there is a lessening of the tension with the Chinese for the moment?"

Kennewick frowned. "He believes that, officially, that will be the case, but he warns that their profile suggests this Colonel of theirs is likely to go rogue in order to deal with what he thinks is a threat to his nation."

Major nodded. "So noted. Tell Sir Basil to put up an extra tight watch. I want to know if their man reenters the country."

"Yes, sir," Kennewick replied.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, one more thing actually and this surprisingly doesn't come from MI5 or MI6, but instead it comes from our commerce department in the foreign office," Kennewick said. "Some of the contracts we've signed recently with General Electric and other multinational companies have attracted the attention of the Russians and well as the Saudis. Thus far, it's been in the form of mild questions at an informal level, but when you couple that with the recent Russian satellite activity, it's ominous."

Major nodded and wrote something down. He glanced over to Tony Blair, who was also taking notes and smiled grimly. "One problem moves off stage only to be replaced by two others," he murmured.

Blair looked up from his notes and nodded. He was getting a ant's eye view of how the office operated and was surprised to find just how much stuff was out of anyone's control.

Major shook himself from his dark mood and turned to the wizards. "Well, gentlemen? What about the attack on the Hogsmeade school?"

"The good news is that the attack was thwarted with no injuries to the children. One dragon was wounded, but not seriously. The dragons played a pivotal role in defending the school, which has the wizarding public somewhat confused. I fear the adult wizards, for the most part, still have some trouble wrapping their mind around the idea of friendly dragons. The children, on the other hand, are another matter," Sir William said, then he smiled.

"They hadn't been aware of the dragons guarding the school until they appeared to fight off the attackers. Now that they are aware, they often want to spend some time with them. It's not unusual to see a dragon in the school yard at lunch with a score of children conversing with it."

Major smiled at the picture that conjured.

"The Weyrleader is looking forward to the day he can bring the Weyr back to Happy Smiles to meet with the children," Albus offered.

Tony gasped and stared at Dumbledore. As a politician, he recognized what a powerful image that would portray and not for the first time he lamented the fact that the dragons seemed to be especially apolitical, showing deference only to the Queen and the office of the Prime Minister.

Major glanced over at him and smiled knowingly. He knew exactly what Tony was thinking. He had thought it enough himself. "It would make a great campaign image, eh, Tony? Well, shame is we can't use it like that," he said. "So, the attack was stopped and I understand we captured someone."

Sir William nodded unhappily. "Yes, but there I'm afraid our luck ran out at Hogsmeade. The one thing that became abundantly clear from our prisoner is that what appeared to be an uncoordinated anti-ministry group has rapidly reorganized into a bona-fide revolutionary movement with isolated cells. We have spotted a suspected Spanish agent several times in Diagon Alley. It's possible that he's responsible for this new organization. In fact, it's very likely."

"One piece of good news," Croaker said softly. "We have someone on the inside. At the time, we thought he was close to the person leading this group, but now we're not so sure. On the other hand, our insider has provided accurate warnings that we've been unable to take advantage of due to lack of manpower. I'm not so arrogant as to think we stopped that attack on the school. Dragons did that because the Weyrleader doesn't want any children hurt."

Major nodded unhappily. The simple fact that absorbing the Ministry of Magic had severely strained the government in terms of people and material. They had spared as many people as they could and were busy trying to train up new people, but that took time.

"I'll speak to Sir Basil about what he can do to help, Sir William," Major offered.

Sir William glanced over to Croaker, who nodded, and then he smiled in relief. They had been busy rebuilding a police force and simply didn't have what it took to also set up a counter terrorism force as well.

Major turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, tell us about your productive meetings," he said with a hint of a plea in his voice.

Dumbledore smiled. "Two days ago, the ICW declared an economic and travel embargo on the nations of Greece and Italy until such time as they sign a peace treaty. Attached to the proposal was also a demand that both wizarding ministries return control to the normal population. Forty five out of sixty three countries voted for the measure."

Major stared at the man in utter shock and Albus chuckled. "I know you didn't insist on that condition, but I knew it would be a sore point between wizards and normal people. Some of the most powerful countries sided with us, thanks in part to the speech given by the Japanese delegate."

"What does this mean?" asked Major.

"It means that Italy and Greece lost all of their external income just when they needed it the most," Croaker said with a broad smile. "That little battle of theirs cost them far more than just one third of an island. It's estimated that each side lost more than half of their forces and without the products being exported, they're going to be hard pressed to finance rebuilding their forces."

"In the meantime," Albus continued, "both nations will suffer until such time as they agree to a cease fire and come to a peace conference. The restrictions are phased and none can be fully lifted without them reaching agreements with ICW mediators."

"Sounds like a good start," Lord Kennewick commented.

Albus nodded. "Unlike your UN, we are able to curse the nations that find themselves in conflict, forcing their cooperation. Although we haven't done that in hundreds of years, the option remains." He shook his head, then he looked at John Major, "How fares things at the Weyr? Did you attend this last impression?"

John Major shook his head. "No, I asked Mr. Blair to go in my stead. Tony?"

Caught unaware, Tony Blair blinked for a moment, then he smiled. "It was amazing! I had never understood the power they represent until I watched all three Weyrs flying overhead. We have another forty riders for our Weyr and the Weyrleader and I had a long discussion about his plans for turning the old reserve on Shetland island into a real Weyr in a couple of years."

"I thought that land was part of a national park preserve," Sir William exclaimed.

"It is," Tony Blair agreed, "but he's looking into relocating those dragons to somewhere else. He doesn't know where yet, but he figures in a few years time, Campbeltown will be able to buy land somewhere on mainland Scotland or perhaps the big island itself and set up a new Weyr."

Dumbledore sighed and shook his head. "Harry has grown up so well. I never would have imagined how far he'd go. If only his parents could have seen it, they would have been so proud of him."

"I think we all got blessed, thanks to that tournament of yours," replied Major. "The Weyrleader is quickly becoming an asset to the nation and the world."

Major looked around. "Thank you for coming today. Mr. Dumbledore, Mr. Croaker, your country appreciates the efforts you've made. Lord Kennewick, please remain behind."

The others filed from the room, while Kennewick waited expectantly. Once the door closed Major turned to him. "Well? I know you were holding back."

"John, you know my analysts tend to look at worst case scenarios. My people came up with a threat evaluation for dragons and I have to tell you, it's a chilling thing to read," Kennewick said. "I personally do not believe we'll ever be in conflict with the Weyr, but I pity anyone who is. My people don't know about their time traveling abilities and I'm not about to tell them, but when you couple their sense of spatial positioning and their ability to go Between, you have a formidable force that could defeat modern weapons. What good is a super sonic fighter when the dragon can intercept it by going Between. Hell, the Weyr could decide that fighting is useless, jump back in time twenty years and take over the country they were fighting."

Major looked thoughtful. "Yes and I bet you'd love to get a few squadrons of dragon riders under your command, but I'm afraid that is one thing the Weyr won't do. I think it would take an invasion by a hostile power before the Weyrleader would allow the Weyr to be drawn in militarily. It might frustrate you, Cyril, but I think the Weyrleader's position on this is the correct one."

Major stretched and sat silent for a moment. "I know I can't order your people to stop looking at worst case situations, but let's not worry about something that will probably never happen. The Weyrleader may still be young, but his responsibilities weigh heavily on him and he does everything he can to prevent harming his dragons and riders."

Kennewick smiled. "As you say, John. I think you're right. I just found it a disturbing read."

Major chuckled. "Well, then, I'll rely on you to keep it to your ministry until such time as it looks like we have problems with the Weyr." He glanced at his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have the Chinese Ambassador coming here in twenty minutes."

Lord Kennewick stood and waved to his friend before exiting the office.

**Hangar Two, Campbeltown Weyr, February 24th...**

Harry stood by himself, watching the lone helicopter as it made a straight in approach to land on the large painted square on the tarmac. He glanced around and noted that, with the exception of Major Atkins and several of her people, his riders and dragons were conspicuously absent from view. There were several dragons he could see on the roof of the Hangar, and he spotted the dragons that made up the airborne patrol.

The Weyr was in lock down mode, with all of the elves and the dragons either in their Weyrs or masking themselves. Only he could see them all.

"_You are worried,"_ Cheki said softly. Harry knew he was speaking privately.

"_I am very worried. So much can go wrong and endanger Maziang,"_ he sent back.

"_It'll be fine, Harry. We know you'll do your best. Believe in yourself like I believe in you,"_ Chekiath replied. _"If it helps, think of May when she's undressing. You seem to really enjoy that."_

Harry flushed. May was a beautiful girl who thought it amusing to tease him when she noted he liked watching her dress. His days would be haunted with such images, and images of someone else, and that bothered him just enough to unsettle him.

The helicopter slowed and gently touched down. From his vantage he could see the pilot throwing switches, shutting the machine down.

Harry nervously brushed some imaginary lint from his jacket arms. He wore his dress uniform today at the request of the Prime Minister.

At some signal from the pilot, the door of the helicopter opened and four men stepped out. He only recognized the Prime Minister and Lord Mills, both of whom had been instrumental in arranging this meeting.

James had informed Harry that the Chinese Ambassador would be bringing an aide to assist in translation, and that Prime Minister Major would personally brief the Ambassador on the topic of the hot rocks. It fell to Harry to explain the source of the hot rocks.

Harry looked at the two oriental looking gentlemen and immediately assumed the older man was probably the Ambassador.

James sized up Harry and gave him an approving grin, which Harry appreciated. Their relationship was interesting. Harry relied on him to explain the workings of the government and James seemed to treat him like a favorite nephew who occasionally needed guidance.

Prime Minister Major led the group over to where Harry stood. The two Chinese men eyed Harry with an intense curiosity. His uniform looked distinctly military, but it lacked any national identification like most British military uniforms.

"Gentlemen, for all intents and purposes, the land upon which we now stand is not part of Scotland. This land was ceded to the Weyrleader and his people last year and they have a limited form of autonomy. Ambassador, may I present to you Weyrleader Harry Potter. Weyrleader, this is Jiang Enzhu of the People's Republic of China and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and this is Wei Fong, press attache and translator for the Ambassador," John Major said.

The Ambassador raised an eyebrow and accepted Harry's offered hand. Harry smiled at the man's confusion. "Ambassador, I know right now you're confused, but I promise you it will all be clear in a bit."

Harry looked at the others and smiled. "If you would follow me please?"

Harry led the group into hangar two, where the only activity was some classes going on in some of the smaller rooms. "It's quiet in here now. Most of the riders are still in class," he said softly, then he led them into the large central meeting room with the open rear area.

"Ambassador, you've been told about our hot rocks and no doubt you can see the potential of having such rocks," Harry asked.

"Yes. Are you saying that such rocks exist in my country?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. The rocks are made from an natural source, much like oil is taken from the ground. The reason you are here is because your country _can_ have access to such a resource."

The Ambassador looked at Harry and his eyes narrowed. "And this is the part where we begin to bargain? You are dancing around something and are very obvious in your reluctance."

Harry smiled tightly. "Perhaps I am. You are from an ancient culture, sir, one worthy of respect for its rich diversity and even richer mythology. What if I were to tell you that part of your mythology was, in fact, a reality?"

The Ambassador crossed his arms in front of him, becoming annoyed. "What are you trying to say?" he demanded.

Harry's expression dropped for a brief moment. "Nearly every culture has myths of dragons. sir. European, South American, African, even Chinese. Dragons, sir, are not a myth. They are real and they are thinking creatures like you and I," he said. "Think about it for a moment, please, Mr. Ambassador. You are here at the personal invitation from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Why would he invite you if he were not serious? Why would we be given this land if this were some kind of trick?"

"Dragons perhaps, but thinking? I think not!" sputtered the Ambassador.

"_Why not? Just because I walk on four legs and can fly, I can think as well as you can, Mr. Ambassador,"_ Chekiath said solemnly.

The Ambassador and his aide looked around wildly for the source of the voice.

"Mr Ambassador, allow me to introduce you to my partner, Chekiath. Chekiath, would you allow yourself to be seen please?" Harry said.

Chekiath shimmered into view and the Ambassador took a step back and gasped. His aide took one long look and he dropped like a stone.

"_I am pleased to meet you, sir,"_ Chekiath said. _"Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr."_

The Ambassador stared long and hard at Chekiath. He was silent for many minutes and Cheki warned Harry he was thinking very deeply, so Harry didn't disturb him.

Finally the Ambassador turned to Harry. "Why? Why would you reveal this to me?"

"Two reasons, sir," Harry replied. "First, the dragons will soon be public knowledge world wide. Chekiath is just one of many thousands of dragons around the world. Secondly, there is a small group of dragons that live within your territory. And since you mentioned bargaining, the price of being able to purchase nearly unlimited energy is a promise to let those dragons live in peace. If I can't get that promise from your government, I will order my dragons to move from a home they have lived in for centuries and you will not get that energy."

The Ambassador turned to Prime Minister Major. "You let this child set terms? What madness is this?"

Chekiath reared up on his hind legs and bellowed angrily. _"Child? This is The Weyrleader! He commands all the dragons on Earth. He is no child!"_

Harry raised a hand and Chekiath settled back down. "Mr. Ambassador, I'm not trying to order your great nation around. I'm simply stating a fact. The Weyr that exists on Chinese soil will continue to do so, free from any interference on your part. In return, we will provide you with a renewable, inexpensive energy source far cheaper than the oil you are currently buying from the middle east."

"He isn't setting terms, Mr. Ambassador," John Major said. "As he says, what he's telling you is fact. I know he could up and relocate the one Weyr faster than you can mobilize the PLA to look for them. Now, why don't we sit down and talk about this? I'm sure we can come to an understanding that you'll be able to present to your Premier."

Harry motioned to a table that had been setup for this purpose, then he sent a silent command to Cheki to have some of the riders bring in refreshments. It was going to be a long day from the looks of it.

Hours later, Harry walked into his quarters, mentally exhausted. The Ambassador had finally came around to understanding what they were offering. It had taken all of the skill he had managed to accumulate, as well as the help of the Prime Minister to bring the man around. At one point it had gotten so bad he was ready to order Maziang evacuated.

During one of the numerous breaks, John Major explained this was nothing new for the Chinese. They invariably fought every proposal offered before settling on one that was pretty much identical to what was initially offered. The principle difference was that now the offer seemed to come from the Chinese, graciously allowing the Weyr to continue in their home and sell hot rocks to the People's Republic.

And Harry knew this was merely the first step. The Ambassador still had to present the case to his Premier. The Weyr had supplied him technical data and even a sample of a low heat emission rock. The Ambassador had the information, he had his sample hot rock and he had photographs of himself seated behind Harry on Chekiath's back.

"Harry?" he looked up from his chair and waved Sirius into the room.

"So, how did it go?" Sirius asked as he sat across from Harry and stretched out his long legs comfortably.

"I have a headache the size of Wales right now. I just spent five and a half hours dickering with a man and when you look at what we agreed upon, it was the same thing I told him five minutes after meeting him. The only difference is that it was worded so that it didn't look like I was setting the terms. No, instead the Chinese were granting me a favor. I swear, Siri, if it had gone on for another ten minutes, I would have thrown up my hands and ordered the evacuation of Maziang."

Sirius grinned and pulled out a small flask and offered it to Harry. "My own special recipe. An energy restoring potion mixed with some fire whiskey."

Harry foolishly reached for the flask thinking it couldn't make his headache any worse. He was wrong. He had been warned by Dumbledore and Remus that he should avoid strong drinks or at best use them in very cautiously. Sirius, it seemed, either didn't know or didn't care that mages shouldn't risk getting drunk.

At the same time that Harry was reaching for Sirius Black's version of enhanced moonshine with extra kick, Prime Minister Major turned in his seat so that he could face the Chinese Ambassador. He spoke over the headset microphone.

"Mr. Ambassador, Her Majesty's government thanks you for your time today. I hope you won't consider it a waste of effort," he said.

Ambassador Enzhu laughed. "No, it was quite enlightening. I was very impressed with this Weyrleader of yours. I pushed him to the very limits of his patience and he never even blinked. I will present his proposal to my Premier in as good a light as possible. My country, I am sure, will jump at the chance for a cheaper fuel source, even if it means letting intelligent dragons live in our country."

The Ambassador paused and shook his head. "Dragons," he murmured. They were an important part of the Chinese culture. To know that they are real and as intelligent as people was astounding to the man.

John Major nodded. He thought the Ambassador was testing Harry very hard. On more than one occasion he had been certain Harry would crack and break off the talks when he seemed to rally and get a second wind. He didn't know for certain, but he suspected his dragon had helped keep him centered and focused for the meeting. It would make for an interesting report to Her Majesty.

The Weyrleader's first formal negotiations had been a success and if he were the grade the lad he would have given him a good solid B plus for effort and results.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- I'm going to start this off with two very specific rants then we'll turn to the usual business.

* To all you Hermione lovers and those that hate seeing teen angst and stupidity. Here's a clue, Hermione is a teen and if book six & seven is anything to go by, she can be very stupid. An awful lot is going on in the relationship and it's going to take time and some very painful moments before they can come to grips with it.

The situation surrounding Harry/May/Hermione is complex and is going to take time to develop and iron out the kinks. This is heading into a three way relationship that isn't based on just sex and instant attraction. AND NO, this is more like real life in that the girls ARE NOT bisexual. Live with it. What is happening is what I envision a true three way might go like, based on real communication and understanding. No magic, no soul bonding, no altering of girls so that they are instantly bisexual etc, just six people, three human and three draconic trying to make something very difficult work for them.

What you're going to see is a lot of soul searching and conversation until things settle out, and they will settle out eventually. So hang in there, smoother times are coming, but first we have to weather the storm.

* Rant Two. Please do not send me a private message asking for me to read your story if you are copying original canon. I don't care that you made Harry friends with Draco from day one. If the major plot points are unchanged from the canon, then you have failed to do anything new and if I am asked to read your story, I'll leave a highly critical review that will probably not make you happy. I am singularly unimpressed with redo stories that follow the original time line. You've been warned.

- A lot of people are concerned about the Chinese. Seriously, for all their communist dogma, the Chinese are a most pragmatic people. The Chinese are a nuclear power, so are the British. China is not going to risk a raid on another country when so many things can go wrong and it can be traced back to them. There is a threat here, but I'll leave it up to you to figure out who it comes from.

- Genericrandom thinks my comments about story boarding was a vague reference to so many fan fiction authors that just start typing instead of planning their stories. And that probably accounts for at least a third of the abandoned stories on this site. Would I do something that vague? Nah.

- Wagstaff wonders if any of the royal family will impress? No. I do not want that complication in this tale. I'll leave that to someone else to deal with.

- Sparrownightmare wants to know what happened to the Weasleys. Honestly they aren't important to this story. They will be seen from time to time in minor scenes. I am trying very hard not to make this into a Weasley bash fest that it could have been. Ron's behavior at the point where Harry left the school was at it's lowest point in the entire series and Harry would have been justified in hating Ron for it. Instead he doesn't hate Ron, but he has more important matters to worry about. The Weasleys are effectively out of this story except for small bit cameos.

- As of this point in the story it is 1996 and Harry is fifteen years old. This is what would have been Harry's fifth year. According to Wikipedia, Prime Minister John Major lost the general election to Anthony Blair in 1997. Some people wanted to know where we are, so there are two frames of reference for you along with the reason why I brought Blair into the storyline earlier than expected. There were a series of scandals that smeared the Major government and likely lost him the election, I'm taking poetic license with that however and presenting a different reason for Blair winning.

And finally, my story recommendation. People have asked by what criteria do I recommend a story. Its really simple. **I have to like the story, ****it has to be finished****, and it has to have a ****small number of reviews****, far fewer than I think it deserves.**

Such is the case with;

**Harrison Potter Stephens** by Fyreheart  
StoryID: **8399415**

A one chapter, 18k word crossover with Bewitched. It's an excellent read with far fewer reviews than it should have. Take a look and let the author know if you enjoyed it.

Now I realize that Clell is also working on a Bewitched crossover that has all the signs of being an excellent piece, but as a one shot, this is a gem that shouldn't be passed up while we wait for other stories to be completed. And Clell, this isn't a dig at you honestly. If I wanted to dig at someone I'd say something like "My it's been a long while since Genkaifan has updated!" But I've learned my lesson. No digs at anyone, honest!


	10. Chapter 10

**Standard disclaimer:**

Harry walked out onto the stage followed by Chekiath. He bowed to the audience. "Good evening," he said after a moment. "I know you were expecting Bob and Alyx, but unfortunately Alyx is currently running from an eight state wide manhunt for substituting her Who Who story for prayer books in 1200 churches."

"_Bob on the other is running down the road trying to escape the six overly amorous naked donut delivery girls he was locked up with,"_ Chekiath added.

Harry glanced up at his dragon and nodded. "In case you're interested, in this weeks episode of the great Who Who epic, the Evil Darth Dumbledore and the deathstar are closing in on slobnovia. Princess Hermione is about to save the day with the Millennium Pigeon."

He paused and looked at Cheki meaningfully. _"Awww do I have to say this part?"_ whined the dragon.

"Yes Chekiath," Harry said firmly.

"_Fine,"_ grumbled Chekiath. _"Draco and Snape have had their Who Who hunt sidetracked by a male hooker that rolled Snape leaving them penniless in Monaco. Snape is scrambling to earn money dancing for dollars while Draco is experimenting with plaster sculpting of Who whos."_

The huge dragon turned and glared at Harry who looked away shamefaced. "Don't blame me, Bob and Alyx wrote this crap!" he muttered.

Chekiath turned back to the audience. _"Well then we'll put an end to that. The authors don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern!"_

Harry looked up at Chekiath, appalled. "But but what about the rest of this script?"

Chekiath flashed the script with a gout of flame and looked at Harry innocently. _"What script?"_

Alyx glared at the pair from her super secret hideout in a VERY FAMOUS Washington DC capital building closet. "Drat I hate when the guests ad lib the disclaimer!" she muttered.

* * *

**We're all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutual weirdness and call it love.**

- Dr. Seuss.

**Harry's office, Campbeltown Weyr, March 1st...**

The door opened and James stuck his head in. "Harry, Franklin Lewis is here."

Harry looked up from inspecting his flight harness. Even with its modern nylon construction, it still needed to be carefully inspected to make sure it wasn't developing cracks.

"Come on in, both of you," he said, waving him in.

The door opened wider and James led Franklin Lewis into the room. Harry hoped fervently the man would have a solution for him.

Harry waited until both men were seated, then he waved towards his large wall map noting every country that contained a Weyr. "There are thirty six Weyrs in the world, and to be frank, the idea now terrifies me."

The two men exchanged an alarmed look, then James leaned forward on his chair. "What idea, Harry?" he asked worriedly.

"Thirty six Weyrs in twenty six unique countries. I've personally dealt with several of those countries. The United States was easy. They wanted a Weyr badly and would have agreed to nearly anything I asked for. The Dutch, on the other hand, were handled mostly by the British. The Chinese had me within inches of ordering Maziang and its village evacuated to Campbeltown or Condron."

Harry took an explosive breath. "It took nearly six hours to come to an agreement that was little more than a restatement of my original conditions and I know I got off lucky. Those talks could have taken weeks of time that I don't have to spare. I spent days preparing for those talks and little of what I read was any help to me."

James leaned back and smiled slightly. "I wondered when you would come to that conclusion," he said softly.

"What? I thought you wanted me to handle this stuff, otherwise why bring Franklin here?" Harry said angrily.

James held up a hand. "We didn't bring him here to turn you into a diplomatic negotiator. We brought him here to teach you a basic understanding of diplomacy and politics. First off, your talks with the Chinese Ambassador went off a lot better than you thought. You might have been sorely frustrated, but you didn't break off the talks. You handled yourself far better than anyone could have possibly expected. The PM and the Chinese Ambassador were very impressed with your performance.

"The Prime Minister told me that Ambassador Enzhu is planning on personally presenting your case to his Premier. In fact, he left this morning for Beijing," James said.

Harry leaned back in his chair and relaxed a little. "That's one small relief, but it doesn't solve the basic problem."

He turned to Lewis and bluntly said, "Would you like a job? I know you're in retirement now and doing odd jobs. The job I have for you doesn't get any odder."

Lewis' eyebrows raised until they nearly touched his hairline. "You're offering me a job?"

"I need someone who can talk to these other countries and knows what they're doing. I spent two days before that meeting reading everything I could find on China, it's people and it's government, and obviously I missed the important stuff because little of what I read actually helped in the talks. With twenty three more nations to go, plus all of the other nations out there that will want our hot rocks, I need someone who can negotiate for us. I need someone that can represent our interests when dealing with countries," Harry explained.

"I told you it would come to this, Lord Mills," Lewis said with a slight smile, then he turned back to Harry. "As it was described to me, your role was effectively the same as a Head of State. While you do need to have instruction in politics and diplomacy, very few Heads of State routinely engage directly in diplomacy. The American President, Jimmy Carter, for example, was a unique man who brokered the first Israeli/Egyptian peace treaty, but that's not the norm."

He paused for a moment to let Harry think about what he was saying. "As much as I would like to help you, I'm an old man and my days of spending hours on end flying from one city to another are at an end. If you'd like, I can recommend someone, a former student of mine who I think could be even better than I was. He's a bit of a maverick who's opinions have gotten him in trouble from time to time, but he's also one of the best negotiators I know. I think he'll be agreeable considering I know he's between jobs at the moment. Once he understands your position and his limitations, he'll be a real asset to the Weyr. Even if you do hire Al, I believe we should still continue with your lessons."

Harry nodded, he wasn't against the lessons, especially now that he understood the deeper meaning behind them.

Lewis wrote down a name and address, then gave it to Harry. Reading it, the Weyrleader's eyebrows rose and he looked at the older man for an explanation.

Lewis grinned. "As I said, he got himself in a bit of a bother with his last employer and ended up unemployed. He decided to try his hand at writing and wanted someplace peaceful to do it."

Harry passed the paper to James, who noted the address and frowned. The man had chosen a really remote location.

"James, could you contact this Mr. Ford and arrange for us to meet?"

"You're going to invite him to the Weyr?" asked James.

Harry nodded. "Yes, but first we'll probably visit him."

The two men nodded, having forgotten for a moment about the dragons ability to travel around the world in seconds. "I just asked the dragons from Weyr thirty to help me locate the area, especially since we now know the dragons can read," Harry announced after a moment of silence.

"Wait, I knew about all the rider's dragons being able to read. Are you saying _all_ dragons can do so? World wide?" James asked.

Harry shrugged and smiled regretfully. "It would be really nice if we humans were truly telepathic like the dragons. What one person learned could be passed to another without much effort. The non bonded dragons here passed the information to the others. Every book, every story, every textbook that a rider reads is spreading around the world to the other dragons. I don't see why they wouldn't be able to find an address for us."

Harry held up a hand to stem the protest. "I'm not going to jump there today, James. It'll take a few days even for dragons to find the area. In the meantime, we need to talk to him first. That can be done with a phone call or two. He might not even be interested."

James nodded in relief and leaned back in his chair.

Harry turned back to Lewis, "So, we'll continue our lessons, but would it be possible to ask for your help and advice from time to time? I don't want you risking your health for our benefit, but sometimes we could use another opinion."

When Lewis agreed, Harry sighed in relief and for the first time in twenty four hours he felt like things were coming under control again. "Excellent. If you have the time, I'd like to go over what happened between the Chinese and myself."

James stood. "I better try and contact Mr. Ford. I'll see you both at lunch."

"James, thank you for your help," Harry called as he walked from the room.

Harry was just turning back to Lewis when another knock interrupted them.

"Harry have you got a minute?" asked Lee Jordan.

He shot a glance to Lewis and the man shrugged. He was starting to see the point Harry had been trying to make.

"What is the problem, Lee?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we've finished arrangements with Ollivander concerning the wood-less wands. The buyer will either have to be an auror, hit wizard or have a special permit from the ministry. Our cut will work out to twenty three galleons per wand, after Ollivander's mark up," Lee said excitedly. "Ollivander will be selling them at fifty galleons each."

"Will we be making them or will Ollivander?" Harry asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"He'll make them for the most part, but we'll make our own for those bound to the Weyr," Lee explained. "He also asked if we could assist in making them in case he got swamped with orders. I didn't see any reason to deny that. If we make the wands for him we'll get thirty galleons per wand instead of twenty three."

Harry thought about it. It wasn't a great deal of money and would never come close to what the hot rocks would make, but it was an added revenue stream that they could expand world wide, along with the basic wand cores they were selling now. "Well done, Lee. Thank you."

Lee grinned and left the room and Harry looked back at Lewis Franklin with an apologetic shrug.

"It's like that all day, isn't it?" Lewis asked.

"Pretty much. Between classes and Weyr duties I really don't have a lot of free time," Harry said with a sigh.

Lewis sat up straighter and looked at Harry appraisingly. "I've heard from several sources about your talks with the Chinese and I do think you are being too hard on yourself. You are absolutely right. There is no way you can be expected to handle every country. But you must be prepared to meet with ambassadors and Heads of State. Sometime, not too far in the future, you will find yourself thrust onto the world stage and people will be flocking to meet you and your dragons. You will be invited to high profile events and interviewed on television."

As he spoke, Harry hunched lower in his chair and really wished he knew how to apparate. When Lewis finally stopped speaking, he opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by another knock at his door.

Lewis started laughing and Harry gave him a weak glare, then yelled, "Come in!"

Sir Robert bustled into the room with Narcissa close behind. The little gnome-like scientist was waving a print out at Harry. "By George, they've done it! We should have the prototype at the end of the month!"

Harry held up a hand. "Wait, Sir Robert. Who's done what?"

Sir Robert blinked and then he grinned as if he just realized he was in Harry's office. "Oh, the company we contracted for the dragon message system expects to ship a prototype keyboard and display in two weeks. They're also well along in creating a book reader for the dragons. It's amazing what advances technology is making, my boy! Simply amazing."

Sir Robert spotted Lewis and he looked at Harry questioningly.

"Erm, Lewis Franklin, allow me to introduce you to Sir Robert March, chief scientific adviser to Her Majesty, and I suppose to the Weyr, as well. Lewis has been tutoring me in politics and diplomacy, Sir Robert."

Sir Robert and Lewis shook hands.

"Diplomacy and politics, eh? Well, I don't envy you, Harry. Until your dragons came along, that was ninety percent of my job. I'll leave you to your discussion. Come along, Narcissa. We still have those pesky x-ray problems to worry over."

Narcissa smiled at Harry and handed him a sheet, detailing the information he needed to know about the machine that would be delivered. "Thank you Mrs. Malfoy," he said softly.

"Figure the end the month, Harry," she said softly. "I swear these muggles have no concept about time."

She turned and quickly left the room, following after her boss.

Lewis stood and chuckled lightly. "Harry, I should have known better to come here unexpectedly. I'll come back at our regular time. In the meantime, if you can find the time, write up your thoughts on how things went with your talk. Remember, look at things objectively. I want to know what you thought went right, and what you thought went wrong."

Harry nodded and tried to stammer an apology, but Lewis waved it away with a laugh and let himself out, leaving Harry to stare at the door.

"_Harry?"_

"Yes, Cheki?"

"_What are you doing?"_

"I'm waiting for the next interruption," he replied.

"_So you're just going to sit and stare at the door?"_ Chekiath asked incredulously.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well, why not? Plenty of people seem to think they need to talk to me today."

"_Harry?"_

"Yes?"

"_I know I've said this before, but sometimes you people are very strange."_

Harry turned to glare at his dragon, who was now rumbling with laughter.

**May's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, March 5th...**

Harry trudged slowly from building fifteen towards his quarters. He had visited with Sir Robert, who wanted to show him the plans for installing the dragon speller machine in hangar two. It was cumbersome and slow compared to a typewriter. The dragons would never be able to handle a human sized keyboard, however, so it would have to do for now.

The first of the female dragons had risen yesterday, signaling that all of the first riders had mature dragons. He hadn't wanted to press for details, but he felt it necessary to ask Karen and Ronan if the calming drought had helped.

To his surprise, both admitted to getting so caught up in the moment that they'd forgotten to take it. They were an established couple and had already been intimate so there was no expected fall out from their coupling, other than the pair now appeared to be closer than before.

Despite his mad blush, he congratulated the couple and made a hasty retreat. He was very concerned for his riders, but he didn't want to appear as if he wanted intimate details.

Just after breakfast, he had sent Wing two off to Disko with no small amount of reluctance. The dragons coloring was very intense, but he didn't know what else to do. All of the first riders were in the same boat. Wing two would be at Disko for the next week, helping Hagrid train the new riders. The riders from the third hatching were too inexperienced to be of much help to the half-giant.

He reminded the first riders to carry their calming drought. Beyond that, he didn't know what else he could do. He was coming to believe that he was the only one that had any faith in the calming drought.

"_You are unsettled tonight, Weyrleader,"_ Spath said. He had just exited his Weyr in hanger six and Harry could see his eyes shining in the gathering darkness.

"I suppose I am. The dragons are maturing quickly and rising for their first mating flights. The riders are anxious and tense. It's a difficult time for everyone," he replied.

"_The dragons know your worries and they are trying to not affect their riders too badly."_

He smiled at the ancient dragon. "I know, my friend, and we all appreciate the effort. I suppose this is a bit like trying to worry about the dawn. No matter what you try, the dawn will come all by itself."

"_Mating is a fact of life, Weyrleader. A well mated dragon is content. I've noted that Smelly Dog and Wolf are content after mating. Don't you wish your riders to be content?"_

Harry grimaced. "I do, but some of our riders are younger than usual for mating. I want my riders to be more than content, but I also know that a mating is a powerful feeling from a dragon and it may influence a rider to do something they may end up regretting."

Spath turned to look towards the administration building for a moment. "It is a difficult thing, this delayed mating of you humans. We should speak more of this, but later. You are needed at the Weyrhealer's Weyr. Trath is rising and Chekiath will undoubtedly cover her."

Harry blinked in shock and noted the sound of a female dragon bellowing her challenge. "I'll talk to you later, Spath," he said, then he spun on one heel and ran in the direction of May's cottage. He was still more than a block away when he spotted Trath leap skyward with Chekiath right on her tail. There were some other males vying for her attention but it seemed unlikely that any could keep up with the two large Horntails.

Harry reached her front door and pushed his way in, thankful it wasn't locked, since the building pass keys were kept two blocks away in the administration building. He stepped into the cottage just as May stepped from her bedroom, looking flushed and disheveled. He could see she was panting and staring at him as if he were a meal and she hadn't eaten in a week.

"Did you take your potion?" he asked, but she only looked at him blankly, then she slowly licked her lips. She moved closer to him in a manner he could only call a swish.

"Harry," she said in a breathy moan.

"Bugger," he swore, then he stepped up to her. In an instant her hands were tugging at his clothing.

"Harry, I need you," she said huskily.

He grabbed her face and pulled her too close for her to continue pulling at this clothing. "May," he said. "Come on, come back to me. I'm not going anywhere and I'll help you the way you want, but you need to come back to me. I need you to be in control."

She looked at him blankly for a second, then she mashed her lips against his and kissed him deeply. "May," he gasped after pulling away. "Think, dammit! Don't let Trath control your actions."

This was one of the hardest things he had ever done. He had learned to control himself when Chekiath had a shagging flight, but the emotional connection he had with May was making his own feelings ten times worse. He wanted her very much, but not like this, not when she wasn't in control of herself.

"May, come on, you're too strong for this," he urged again.

She blinked several times, then fear replaced the glazed look in her eyes. "Oh. god, Harry. I would have taken any guy who walked through the door," she said, ashamed.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly. "Yeah, but I walked through your door. When Spath said Trath was rising, I ran here."

She let him pull her into a tight embrace and shivered slightly.

"It'll be all right, May," he said softly. "It's only this bad the first time your dragon rises."

She shivered again and he tightened his grip.

"You sure? You promise?" she asked, looking up at him. She moaned slightly and a delicious shiver ran up her back.

He nodded. "You've seen me when Cheki joined a shagging flight. Did I ever force myself on you? We've even made love when he's flying."

She shook her head. They had made love when Chekiath covered another female, and while it did affect him, making him more passionate, he'd never lost control or pressured her. "No," she answered slowly, "but I still want you so bad, Harry. It's under control now, but I want you."

He leaned down and kissed her. "Good, because I want you, as well," he replied, then he led her back to the bedroom.

When they stepped into the room, her grip on his hand tightened and she pulled him to the bed. It wouldn't be their first intimate encounter, but tonight would be different - special.

Harry awoke the next morning with May draped over him like a blanket. He smiled and ran a hand through her hair.

She lifted her head and looked at him with a wide smile. "Good morning," she said, then she blushed slightly. "I want to thank you. If you hadn't come around I really think I would have left the cottage looking for someone to shag. When you walked in, I was ready to tear your clothes off."

She shuddered and realized that what once almost happened to her, she nearly inflicted on someone else. It was a very sobering thought.

He sighed and brushed the hair from her face. "You weren't in control last night until after I started talking to you. I know you weren't there, but when Chekiath rose for the first time, I thought I'd die if I couldn't orgasm; the urge was that strong. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. Susan... she had to heal me first, then she talked enough for me to get myself under control."

He looked over at the clock. "We better get up. I don't think yours was the only dragon to rise last night."

She chuckled against him and he realized she wasn't wearing anything. "We'll get up in a little while. I want to show you how much I appreciate what you did for me last night."

She traced a trail of kisses from his shoulder down and he sucked in a breath. _Short of someone declaring war on the Weyr, I think it's going to be a great day,_ Harry mused as he realized that May had other plans. Breakfast was going to be late.

Walking into the kitchen hall at lunch time, May and Harry noted Mariah sitting next to Lee, who had a bit of a shocked expression on his face. And it was impossible to miss Luna, who sat with a Mona Lisa-like smile on her face.

He also noted Millicent sitting between two boys who looked a little surprised. The smile on her face, however, said it all. Harry was very pleased for her. She was a sweet girl who'd gotten a hard reputation at school because of her parents and her house. In the Weyr, however, she was quickly shedding the armor she wore to protect herself.

"I wonder who Luna managed to catch?" he whispered to May.

May glanced over at the whimsical blonde and shrugged. "It's hard to say with Luna, but I don't think she really cared one way or the other. I know she was among the girls interested in you, but other than that, she didn't show any particular interest."

He frowned slightly and May picked up on it.

"What's the matter?"

"I guess I just don't want anyone hurting her. Or any of the girls. for that matter. It's clear to me that the first time the dragon rises there's a lot of room for someone to be taken advantage of," he said softly.

She reached up and caressed his cheek. "And that's another reason why you're the Weyrleader. You care so much for all of us."

"_Trandieth was covered by Pandorth, Harry. Luna was in complete control of herself. She went to Pandorth's Weyr to help Jack,"_ Chekiath said privately.

He leaned closer to May. "Cheki says Luna went to Jack's cottage last night," he repeated softly.

Luna turned in her seat and glanced over at Harry, then she very deliberately winked at him.

May picked up her sandwich and paused. Jack Bruno was one of the normal students who had a fondness for taking care of the food herd animals and he was one of the few who seemed truly interested in helping Luna find her strange animals. He was from a broken family and had been very wary when he first came to the Weyr. "Good. Jack's a good guy. She could have done far worse."

Harry nodded and picked up his own sandwich.

"May? Do me a favor?"

She arched an eyebrow. "This morning wasn't enough?" she replied playfully. This was something she never thought she'd be able to do, but Harry made her comfortable enough to flirt. His blush was enough of an incentive that she promised to do so more often.

He smiled. "This morning was wonderful, but I wasn't talking about that. Just circulate among the girls and make sure they aren't feeling pressured."

"Harry, we've all felt pressured since we learned what the dragons could do to us," she countered.

He sighed and looked down. "I just don't want anyone feeling like they were forced to do something with someone they didn't want," he said quietly.

She reached over and gripped his hand. "I know, but I'm not sure there's anything you can do about it. Most of us girls expected this and you confirmed it when Chekiath flew. We're all smart, Harry. We saw the writing on the wall and knew what was coming. In the past three months, we've all been pairing off."

Harry nodded, still unhappy with the situation.

May looked at him closely, then grimaced. She knew who he was thinking about. All of the girls had been pairing off, except Hermione, who was still thought that she could meditate through the experience.

_He loves me,_ May pondered, _but he also loves her._

**Knob's Flat, New Zealand, March 8th...**

Albert Ford walked out of his house and down to the chicken coop. It wasn't much of a farm – twenty chickens and a few hay fields – but it was his.

To some it was an idyllic existence. To Albert, it was an unmitigated disaster. He'd been employed as a high ranking negotiator for the British foreign office until he differed with his boss over a human rights issue that his boss wanted to ignore. As a result, he had been fired and blacklisted.

Leaving England where he still had friends and contacts was his first mistake. Sinking most of his available cash into this run down farm was his second. And all because he thought the peace and quiet would allow him to write the next great work of literature was his final mistake.

With most of his money sunk into the farm, he found himself forced to work the farm in order to pay basic bills. He sold the hay and sometimes eggs to the locals and managed to squeeze a few hours a day into writing.

Possible relief came just a few days ago when he heard from his old mentor, Lewis Franklin, who told him he had recommended him for very unique position. Franklin told him that he'd be dealing with Lord James Mills and someone named Harry Potter and that it was a classified position for at least another year.

He had already heard from Lord Mills by the time Franklin had called him and he was extremely relieved to know the man wasn't just some crackpot.

Mills had told him that someone would probably fly out to see him in a few days. He again reminded the man that his security clearance obligations were still in effect and Ford replied that he understood perfectly. He did try to wheedle some additional information from Lord Mills, but the man was unsurprisingly reluctant to discuss details over the telephone. The only thing he would say was that he would try to accompany Mr. Potter on his trip out to meet with him.

That was three days ago and since then he had heard nothing from either Franklin or Mills. He still had bills to pay and food to put on the table.

He'd just stepped from the chicken coop with a large selection of eggs when he felt a blast of bone chilling air and heard what sounds like huge wings flapping. He shivered and looked around. Not seeing anything, he rushed to the farmhouse and slammed the door closed behind him, relieved that he was now protected.

He placed the basket of eggs on the counter and quickly lit his stove, planning on cooking some of the eggs for his dinner. When a knock came from his front door, he nearly jumped out of his skin and shut off the stove before going to the door.

"Who is it?" he called. While he thought himself a thoroughly rational man, he was rather spooked by this point.

"Mr. Ford? It's Lord Mills. I'm here with Harry Potter," said a voice.

He blinked in surprise and opened the door.

James and Harry stood on the front porch looking at him. He had expected Lord Mills to be what he sounded like - a middle aged man with slight graying around his temples. Potter, on the other hand, was clearly a surprise.

He looked around and didn't see any car which caused him to frown. "I thought you'd call," he said uncertainly.

"That would be my fault. I was in such a rush to talk to you and see if we could convince you to join us that we rushed things," Harry said.

Ford eyed Harry, noting his youth and attitude. He glanced at Lord Mills, who grinned back at him.

"He's the one doing the hiring, not I," James offered. He was used to the reactions to Harry's age at this point and learned to see the humor of it.

Ford turned back to Mills. "And this is a government job with an official security clearance?" he exclaimed.

James opened a brief case and handed him a sealed envelope.

Ford stared at the envelope for a moment. It had the seal of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on it. He grabbed the envelope and motioned the two to enter the house, then he turned and walked into the living room.

James and Harry exchanged a shrug, then they entered the house. They found Ford reading a letter from Prime Minister Major with a trembling hand. Finally, he looked up at the pair. "Who are you that you can pull this kind of clout?" he asked.

"If I may, Mr. Ford, let me tell you a story about something that happened to me a little over a year ago," James offered.

Ford nodded numbly and sat down in an armchair facing a worn down couch. Harry and James moved to the couch and Harry listened while James explained about the dragons.

Outside, perched on the barn, Chekiath raised his head and peered into the distance. Comaloth was rising for her first flight and he wanted badly to be there.

"_A Weyrleader's dragon must sometimes make sacrifices,"_ Spath commented from his side. _"I know the pull is great, but your rider is involved in important business for the Weyr. It would not do for you to run off for a silly female when he may need your help. Your rider does not need to be distracted right now."_

Chekiath turned to look at Spath and gave the dragon version of a sigh. _"It is true. Being the Weyrleader's dragon brings a lot of responsibilities. Comaloth will fly again and I will cover her many times in her life."_

Spath rumbled with amusement. He was one of the largest of the non-bonded dragons and Chekiath was nearly twenty feet longer than him. _"And Trath? Are you planning on only having two consorts? All the Weyr knows the Weyrleader is covering her rider."_

Chekiath's eyes twirled anxiously. _"Do you think I should add more? I am not sure Harry could handle more. I know he cares deeply for both riders so he could learn to care for more maybe."_

"_So true. Humans are such frail things at times. As strong as the Weyrleader is, in matters concerning females, he is woefully incapable of dealing with them firmly,"_ Spath agreed. _"Comaloth's rider needs to learn this lesson. Stay today, young dragon. Trath will be happy to assist you later. Soon you'll be able to add Comaloth as another consort. Plan on just two for now. You will have an entire Weyr vying for your favors and not even the First Egg can tell what the future might bring."_

Chekiath dipped his head in respect. _"Thank you, honored elder. I am grateful for your help. I do not think I would have wanted to be the Weyrleader's dragon without your advice."_

Spath rumbled again and his lids half closed in the warm sunshine. _"You would have done well enough by yourself, Chekiath. Now, let us enjoy the warmth. All too soon we will return to the Weyr and it's gray skies and chilly rains."_

Chekiath turned his large head to watch the farmhouse where his rider and Sheep Guy were busy talking to someone that the Weyr needed.

**Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, March 8th...**

Neville sat heavily in the seat next to Hannah and he shook his head. "Now I know what Harry went through. I never understood how bad it could get."

"Bad? What? What do you mean?" asked Hannah.

The two had been dating for a number of months, and despite coming from a mixed blood marriage, Neville's grandmother had made it plain that she approved of the level headed girl. In fact, she had told Neville over the Yule Holiday that she came from a similar mixed background. It was one of the reasons why the Longbottoms never fell for the pure blood bigotry.

"Ever since the attack on the school I've had all sorts of girls following me around and whispering. People stare at me," he complained.

Hannah suppressed a laugh and leaned against him, nudging him with her shoulder. "Well, now that Harry's gone, you're the only real life hero we have at school."

Neville gave her a sour look. This was exactly what Harry hated and now he understood why.

"They only see the top layer of Neville Longbottom," she said smugly. She chuckled, unable to refrain from using a herbology pun.

He turned slightly and eyed her carefully. "And you see more?"

She nodded. "I do see more. I know you had the shakes following that fight. I also know that it still gives you the occasional nightmare," she said softly, then she reached out stroked his hand gently. "I know because I held you afterward. I was never more proud of you than I was then. You showed the world what you're capable of doing and helped protect the school. To those girls, you're a bigger than life hero. To me, you're something much better – you're Neville. My Neville."

He smiled at her. That was something he could live quite happily with.

"Uh oh, here comes your new shadow," Hannah warned.

Neville glanced up and groaned to himself. Since the attack Ron Weasley had attached himself to Neville like a limpet, following him everywhere.

"Nev, mate, come sit at the Gryffindor table," Ron called.

Neville took a heavy breath then he looked up at Ron, sitting a table away and pointing to a spot next to him.

"No, thanks, Ron. I think I'd rather sit with Hannah right now. I have something important I want to ask her," he replied.

When Ron scowled at him, he turned back to Hannah, who arched an elegant eyebrow.

"Something important? This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your Grandmother sending my father a marriage contract, would it?"

Neville winced. "I had hoped to warn you about that before she did it. I wasn't sure if she was kidding or not."

"I don't like the idea of being forced into doing something, Neville," she said in warning.

"Han, honestly, I meant to warn you about it. Tell your father to turn it down if it'll make you feel better," he stammered.

She leaned closer to him and ran a finger over the buttons of his shirt. "No, I said I don't like being forced. But I'm not being forced in this case. You're mine, this just makes it official," she said fiercely, then she leaned in and kissed him.

His arms slipped around her pulling her tightly against him. _I'll never understand girls,_ he thought to himself before giving in to the kiss.

**Disko Island, March 9th...**

Luna cast her spell and waited. A moment later her wand indicated there was only one person in the Weyr. She had been sure that was the case, but it didn't hurt to check. Comaloth reported that Marty had left in the middle of the night, very unhappy with himself and more than a bit afraid.

She arrived in Disko after leaving an email to Harry and several others saying she had something important to attend to and not to worry if she were absent today.

Luna shook her head and wished people weren't so stubborn. In the past she would have told them that they were infested with wrackspurts or something. She didn't have to pretend anymore and it was something that greatly relieved her. The riders accepted her as she was and never made fun of her. Even Lisa Turpin, who used to be among those that stole her possessions, had apologized to her.

Luna wasn't looking for people to love her. All she wanted was for people to accept her, and she had found that in the Weyr. She smiled at that thought. She loved her fellow riders and they loved her and if she had the chance she intended to love as many of them as she could. Jack had been a very kind and gentle lover for her first time and she had had a few more encounters with him since then, but both agreed they were too young to be looking for anything permanent.

And therein lay her problem. She wasn't sure she wanted to settle for just one person. The Pern Weyrs were much more open when it came to sexuality and it wasn't uncommon for a woman to have children by several riders. It was something she still needed to think about, but her entire life was still ahead of her and she had time to decide. For now, Jack was fun and sweet to be with.

Opening the door to the Weyr, she heard the sound of soft crying and she shook her head sadly. She knew this would be happening. She knew it last night when Comaloth rose at Disko and Chekiath was off with Harry and Lord Mills in New Zealand.

Luna stepped into the room and nodded to Comaloth, who watched her rider with solid yellow eyes. Her rider was upset and it was upsetting the dragon.

She moved over to the bed where the young woman lay sobbing quietly.

"Hermione," she said firmly, "you need to stop this. You're not only hurting yourself, you're hurting Comaloth."

Hermione lifted her head. She looked about wildly before she locked onto Comaloth, who lay in her sand bed looking back at her with a miserable expression. "Oh, sweetie, I didn't mean for you to hurt," she said.

"_It is my fault,"_ Comaloth replied sadly. _"If I had controlled myself better, you would not be so unhappy."_

"All right, that is enough of that," Luna said firmly, getting a bit annoyed with the pair. "Comaloth, you did nothing wrong and certainly did nothing to be ashamed of."

Luna turned and poked a finger into Hermione's chest. "You, on the other hand, have gone out of your way to make yourself unhappy. In the process, you've managed to damage friendships and hurt people. First, you hurt Harry, and when everyone told you that you were wrong, you refused to believe them. Hermione Granger is never wrong! The first time our dragons mated caught all of us by surprise. Very few of us managed to remember the calming drought, and to be honest, I'm not sure it would have helped."

Luna glanced around at the clothing that lay on the floor, most of it ripped and torn. "Harry is far to much of a gentleman and would never dream of saying it, so I'll say it for him. We told you so. We told you this would happen and you refused to believe it." She took a big breath and shook her head. "I can't believe you've finally managed to get _even me_ angry with you."

Hermione hung her head in shame. Her reaction to her dragon's rising was obvious by the torn clothing strewn about the room. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Last night had been a disaster and it was compounded by the fact that the boy hadn't even wanted to spend the night. He'd obviously slipped out in the middle of the night.

Luna snorted. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." She took another deep breath. "It's time to start putting this behind us and start fixing the problem."

Hermione looked up at Luna. "Fix it? How? I've lost him to May and lost his friendship as well!"

"You're forgetting one important factor - Chekiath. Wasn't last night enough of a lesson to show you that what a dragon wants, a dragon invariably gets? Chekiath happens to want Comaloth very much and it's not possible to separate rider from dragon. That means you need to first figure out what you want. Comaloth will allow herself to be swayed by your needs, but not to an extent where you can ask her to swear off sex until you can find some acceptable man and marry him in a couple years time."

Luna's eyes bored into the girl who shrank back under her scrutiny.

"You're talking about sharing him," Hermione replied with a touch of dismay.

"No, I'm talking about having the person you want. He wanted _you_ the night Cheki rose. And your refusal to go to him hurt him even more than pushing him away afterward. Harry is a difficult person to get close to. Right now, he's content with May, but he also still loves you. If either of you insist that he chooses between you and May, you will both lose and Harry will pick neither. If things hadn't played out between you the way they did, and had he not been away on Weyr business, he would have been with you when Comaloth rose. But you've made it abundantly clear to him, as well as others, that you didn't need anyone to help you through it. You could _meditate_ yourself right out of the mating, right?."

She shook her head sadly. "Like it or not, your actions from the tournament back at Hogwarts opened up a place in his heart for May to slip into. But you want to know what kind of guy Harry really is? Think of everything you've said to him since then. Remember all the dirty looks and snide comments that you gave him and only once did you manage to invoke any anger – and he still treated you better than you have treated him. Even with all of that, he still holds you in his heart, just as deeply as he holds May. He loves you just as strongly as he loves May.

"The question you should be asking yourself, Hermione, is whether you can put aside everything you _think_ you know about love, relationships and Harry Potter, and lead with your heart, rather than your head."

Luna stood and looked at her. Sometime during the night she had put on a t-shirt as a nightgown, but other than that she was still naked. "Now, get up and face the day, Hermione. Marty Benson's dragon covered Comaloth and you lost your virginity. Learn to deal with it. He's still your Wing leader and he's probably terrified of what Harry is going to do to him."

"Why would Harry," Hermione began.

"Hermione!" Luna snapped. "I swear you could teach a nargle to grind teeth it doesn't have! Harry loves you still, and he loves May. I can't make that any more plain. You need to talk to Marty about what happened last night so it doesn't cause problems in your wing. You also need to apologize to Harry. You were wrong. Say it a few times for practice until you stop choking on that fact. You need to grow up and deal with this right or it can spiral out of control. This could destroy a lot of things, Hermione - you, your dragon, Harry, Cheki, May and possibly the Weyr itself!

"Get dressed. By the First Egg, you're a Wing second! Act like it!" Luna spat, then turned and strode out of the weyr.

Hermione stared after Luna, astonished by the blonde's anger.

She glanced over at Comaloth, who was still watching her. "I've made a right mess of things, haven't I, love?"

"_I don't like it when you're so unhappy, Hermione,"_ replied her dragon, not really understanding why her rider was so distressed. _"It feels like a dull ache in the back of my head that won't go away."_

"So, was Luna right about Chekiath and Harry?"

"_Chekiath told me he wanted me, but then you fought with Harry, which made him and Chekiath very sad. I wanted Chekiath, but Momnarth said he was away on Weyr business and couldn't make it. She also said that Chekiath knew you didn't want Harry anymore. _

"_Chekiath is the Weyrleader's dragon and the largest dragon in the world. Any female would be honored to be one of his consorts. In his position, he could have a dozen consorts. But he only wants Trath and me. I believe his rider is influencing his choice without knowing it,"_ Comaloth replied.

Hermione finally realized what people had been telling her all along. The dragons had their own sense of morality and sharing a mate wasn't an unusual dragon behavior, especially for a prominent dragon like Chekiath.

She curled up on the bed and bit her lip. She'd made a mess of things and had several orders of crow on her future menu. Last night she had tried to meditate through Comaloth's first mating flight, but within minutes she was tearing at her own clothing and ready to go seek a willing partner. She would have, too, but Marty entered her Weyr in almost as bad a shape as she was and she was on him in a flash, pulling and ripping at his clothing.

She had been so sure that she could meditate through the mating and instead she ended up screwing her Wing Leader like someone who'd taken a lust potion. She shivered and sniffled a little. She had always dreamed her first time would be with someone she wanted and loved. She never imagined it would be with her Wing Leader, a young man that she liked, but not in that way.

The actual act passed in a blur of dragon induced frenzy. Unlike the dragons, where the act itself was very brief, it lasted longer for the riders and most of them enjoyed the experience because they were with a partner they'd chosen. Except Hermione.

She groaned at her own stupidity and climbed out of bed. As she dressed, she resigned herself to several painful conversation before things could return to normal. What bothered her the most, besides the knowledge that she had hurt some of her fellow riders, was that her own emotional storm in the aftermath actually caused her dragon pain.

Once she was dressed, she turned and gave her dragon a weak smile. "It'll get better, sweetheart. You'll see," she promised.

Comaloth eyed her rider. The yellow of her eyes had been slowly fading for the past hour, thanks mostly to Luna's intervention. _"I know it will, my heart. You're the best at what you do."_

Hermione snorted and gave a rueful laugh. "Yeah, and when I mess things up, I really mess them up. Well, let's see if I'm good at fixing things, too."

She squared her shoulders and walked from the Weyr, looking for her Wing Leader. She found him walking out of the Hatching chamber that Hagrid used as a class room after he had the riders clean up the egg shells from the hatching. It was becoming a tradition. The new riders cleaned up the hatching ground, removing the shells from their dragons so that it would be ready for the next hatching. Most riders would also admit to keeping a piece of the shell that their dragon hatched from as a keepsake.

Marty looked at Hermione warily as he approached. "I'm surprised to see you. Luna told me she traded places with you today so you could deal with some business back at Campbeltown," he said.

Hermione blinked in surprise, then smiled slightly and made a note to include Luna in the people she needed to talk to. "I wanted to talk to you before I left."

He crossed his arms and eyed her. "Oh?"

She took a step closer and took a deep breath. "Marty, about last night. I didn't treat you very well afterward and I'm sorry about that. But the truth is, I'm not looking for anything from you or expecting anything. It just happened."

Marty relaxed a little. "To be honest, I didn't exactly plan last night. If you can tell me you can continue with your Wing second duties without any problems, then we're good. If not, I'll ask Harry to place you in another Wing."

Hermione shook her head. "No," she replied with a weak smile. "You won't have any problems with me. I promise."

He nodded and smiled for the first time since last night. His ego had taken a bit of a bruising, but he hadn't been a virgin when he went to Hermione and knew that he didn't normally cause a girl to break down in tears.

"All right, I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asked.

Probably," she replied. "I'm not sure how much time I'll need. If it goes over, I'll have Coma bespeak to Olaronth."

He nodded and gave her a brief wave and walked off.

Seeing Comaloth standing in front of their weyr, waiting for her, she smiled and summoned her flight jacket.

"Come on, love," she said as she caught her jacket and put it on. "Let's go talk to a few people." She straightened her shoulders and walked to her dragon.

A few moments later, a pair of slate gray eyes watched Comaloth spring into the air and vanish. Satisfied, Luna turned to re-enter the Hatching chamber. Now that she had Hermione on the correct path, she could start teaching the new riders about their real job - finding the elusive Snorkack.

**Dragon Infirmary, Hangar Seven, Campbeltown Weyr, March 9th...**

"This is our infirmary, where our healers tend to any dragons who are ill or have an injury. In some cases the dragons come from all over the world to be treated here. For those unable to come to us, our primary Weyrhealer goes to them," Harry explained.

Albert Ford stood next to Lord Mills, wide eyed as Harry showed him around the Weyr. His head was spinning with facts and figures, twenty six countries, thirty six Weyrs, thousands of dragons. Dragons! Thinking dragons!

Harry had returned to the Weyr a few hours ago with Lord Mills and Albert Ford to show him around and allow him to understand the magnitude of their need. He planned on spending two days examining the Weyr and their plans, then a dragon would return him to his farm so he could close up there and come back to the United Kingdom via a more conventional international jet.

Harry waved May over and she approached them with a curious look. She didn't recognize the man, but she knew Harry had traveled to New Zealand to talk to him. She had missed being in bed with Harry last night. She'd realized then just how comforting it was to have him nearby.

"May McNulty, this is Albert Ford. James and I are showing him around the Weyr. Albert is going to become our negotiator," Harry said.

Ford said nothing about her youthful look, but so far every rider he had met seemed to be less than twenty. "Call me Al," he said in a friendly manner.

She smiled at him prettily. "Welcome to our Weyr, Al," she replied, then she turned to Harry. "Should I email you the daily report?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm here. You might as well tell me now."

She nodded and pulled a small flip notepad from her pocket. "We have six dragons down with scale bulges. No infections have formed as yet, but we're watching them. Later today, Hagrid will be bringing a major infection in from Sakushima Weyr. The dragon has developed an infection on a wing sail. It's a full grown adult, so we've prepared the stall we use for wing problems."

"Excuse me?" asked Ford. "Am I to understand you're bringing an adult dragon here from Japan? The only Sakushima I know of is an island off the coast of Japan."

"Yes, that's right," Harry replied. "As to how, in the case of a dragon being unable to fly, our Weyrhealers have developed a sling we can rig under a dragon so that four dragons can lift the injured dragon. Normally we wouldn't dream of taking any injury or illness Between. Something about Between makes most conditions worse. If they are bringing a sick dragon here, it must be pretty bad."

"Bad enough," May said. "She is going to require around the clock care to fix the problem and I'm not sure we can yet."

"Is that why you wanted me to purchase those microscopes?" asked James.

May nodded. "We need them anyway, but I think we're going to need them for this case. Hagrid doesn't know what's causing the infection, but the standard antibiotic isn't working. Doctor Sheppard promised to show me how to figure out what kind of infection we're dealing with, but he needed a microscope."

Harry nodded. "If you need anything, May, let me know," he said.

She smiled at him. "I will, thank you."

Harry turned back to Ford and May returned to where her help were still raking out the stall. "Now you see the scope of our problem, Al? We have dragons from all over the world. Some of them in places that could be a real Weyr with riders, like Campbeltown. Some will need to be relocated and honestly I don't have enough time in the day to do the research on each country," he said pleadingly.

Albert held up a hand. "You've sold me, Weyrleader. Since you can easily return me to my farm, I'm going to spend today and tomorrow poking around, then I'll go home and talk to a realtor about selling the place. It'll take a week or two, but I'll be back here then and I can start."

He glanced around and shook his head, then he turned back to the pair. "I lost my last job because I refused to ignore a human rights violation that my boss wanted swept under the rug. But what you have here takes my breath away. Dragon rights, a new race of non-human... people. It's incredible."

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, very glad the man was willing to work with them. "Let James take you to the security office to pick up a temporary ID card that the guard force will accept. Then poke around at your leisure."

James nodded and gestured for Albert to follow him. Harry watched the two walk away then he glanced over at one of the stalls where a dragon was watching him closely. "Hello," he said with a smile for the dragon.

"_Hello, Weyrleader. I am Garackeath from Weyr thirty four. I am very grateful for your help."_

Harry instantly placed the Weyr in his mind. Lake Toba, Indonesia, the Weyr was nestled against one small corner of an enormous caldera. Toba was classed as a super volcano with a caldera that was more than fifty miles long. It had last erupted hundreds of thousands of years ago and then filled in with water to form a huge lake.

Harry smiled and came closer. "We're here to help, Garackeath. How are you injured?"

The dragon held up one large paw that was heavily wrapped in a bandage. Paws, tails and the neck were about the only places that regular bandages could be used for dragons. _"I stepped on a sharp metal thing and it hurt. I could not pull it out so I came to the Weyrhealer."_

"Garackeath came to us with an old railroad spike in her paw," May said stepping up behind him. "We removed the spike and gave her a large tetanus shot."

Harry winced. The only place where dragons could take a needle was in their gum. They claimed it didn't hurt them, but it still made Harry and the others cringe.

"We'll keep her here for a few more days, but I don't think she'll have any problems," May concluded.

Harry stepped a little closer and scratched along Garackeath's eye ridges. The Swedish short snout whistled with pleasure. "You're in the best hands, Garackeath. Our May is going to be famous some day as one of the first Weyrhealers," Harry said softly, then he glanced up at May, who was blushing furiously.

She made a shooing motion so that she could check the bandaged paw. Harry stepped out of the way and gave a nod to the dragon. "Rest and get better, Garackeath. If you need anything, ask Chekiath and he'll let me know."

"_Thank you, Weyrleader."_

Harry gave May, who was kneeling on the ground, a jaunty salute and walked away.

The dragon craned her neck so she could watch May. _"You are lucky to have the favor of one such as him. He is truly special,"_ the dragon said softly.

May leaned back on her knees and wiped one hand across her brow. "I know he is," she said with a dreamy smile, then she looked up at the dragon and her smile broadened. "I think tomorrow we'll change this for a smaller dressing. With a little luck, you'll be walking about in no time."

"_Thank you, Weyrhealer. I think the Weyrleader is right. You are as special as he is."_

May's blush deepened and she chuckled to herself. She didn't see herself as special in any way.

**Emma Granger's office, Campbeltown Weyr, March 9th...**

"Mum?"

Emma looked up from her computer and smiled. "Hermione! I thought you'd be at Disko for another two days."

When Hermione stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, Emma frowned. "Are you all right?"

She sat down in a chair across from her mother and shook her head, then gave her a weak smile. "No, but I think I will be. Comaloth rose last night and Marty Benson ended up coming to my Weyr."

Emma's eyes widened and she leaned forward in her chair. "I take it you now understand what Harry went through?"

She'd been very disappointed with her daughter when she turned on Harry and refused to listen to any reason from anyone. Now the shoe was on the other foot. She didn't wish her daughter the pain she was going through, but some lessons were harder to learn than others.

Hermione nodded. "I do. Although I suspect his first time was far better than mine."

Emma sighed and shook her head. "I'm so sorry for that, love. As much as we'd like that first time to be special, it rarely is. I recall many of my girlfriends at the time reporting it was anything but good," she offered. She'd been fortunate in that regard. Years of riding horses when she was young had taken care of that issue.

She paused. "So are you and Marty..."

"No," Hermione said firmly. "Marty and I spoke this morning. Neither of us were expecting anything. I'm afraid I wasn't very good for his ego because he snuck out of my room without a word in the middle of the night. I daresay any guy would find it a bit ego crushing when the girl breaks down and cries."

"Oh, Hermione," Emma said with a sigh and shake of her head. Then she stood and walked over to where she kept a pot of tea and poured a cup for her daughter. Walking back, she gave the cup to her daughter and caressed her cheek. "You'll find the right guy, Hermione, and when you do, you'll find it's a magical, unlike anything you've ever experienced."

"I had the right guy," Hermione said sadly, then she shook her head. "And Luna says if I want him now, I'll have to share him."

Emma sat slowly and played with a pencil on her desk for a moment before nodding. "Yes, we are starting to see some of that. I wondered if it might happen."

She looked up at her mother in shock. "What? You don't disapprove?"

Emma frowned. "Naturally I don't approve of something like that for myself," she said slowly. "But then I don't have a dragon inside my head altering the moral codes that I was raised with. Millicent has found happiness with two different guys. It's not my place to question it. She seems happy and both boys seem content. Luna is a dear girl who I'm convinced is trying to reinvent the free love days of the sixties.

"Harry has worked very hard to try to keep the boy/girl ratio one to one, but it wasn't one to one for the first hatching. Now my daughter tells me that she may end up in a similar situation. All I can say is if it will make you happy, go for it. I lack a frame of reference to say whether it's wrong or right."

"All of this is so pointless. Before I could even approach Harry I'd have to talk to May and I doubt she'll be in the mood to share when she's won."

Emma nodded. "That's true. What will you do? Will you approach Harry directly?"

Hermione snorted. "About this? Heavens no. His head would explode. No, I'll talk to him because I need to apologize and maybe do some serious groveling. Sharing him with May is not something I intend to bring up with him until I've talked with May."

"How much of this desire for Harry comes from your dragon's desire for Chekiath?" Emma asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Honestly, mum, some days I wonder where I end and Comaloth starts, we're that mixed together. I've been interested in Harry ever since he jumped on the back of a troll. It's only in the last year that we even tried to take it beyond mere friendship. When I came to the Weyr, I knew instantly that May was competition," she said, then she laughed. "Harry doesn't even know that he set the stage for this just by trying to be an honest friend to two girls who both wanted a friend very badly."

Emma smiled. She knew Hermione's early years had been hard on her and she was thrilled when she started writing home about Ron and Harry, who seemed to be real friends. She and Dan had been slightly concerned that they were both boys, but the fact that their daughter had made some friends surprised them.

"I don't think it matters at this point, mum. It's impossible to separate the rider from the dragon. I'm certain that if I didn't have Coma I would never consider sharing any boy. But I do have Coma and I never want that to change."

"_And I don't want it to change either,"_ Comaloth said fiercely.

"It won't, love. I promise," Hermione said with a smile.

"I see what you mean," Emma said with a small laugh. It was nearly impossible these days to have a conversation without Comaloth throwing an odd comment or two into the discussion. She realized at that moment that one thing her daughter had sacrificed when she impressed was privacy. She was never alone and never would be. Even if she did enter some kind of three way thing with Harry and May, she'd still always have a fourth partner in her own dragon.

"So how are you feeling otherwise?"

"Physically, a little sore. Mentally? I think I'll be kicking myself for a few more days. I yelled at Harry and when it happened to me I had no chance of escaping it. Had Marty not be willing it, would have been a kind of rape." She sighed. "Mostly I feel very foolish right now. You know I don't like being proven wrong about something. It's a character flaw I have. I know that now. I was proven so very wrong and now I have to try to fix things. I may never have Harry, but I want to do everything I can to repair our friendship."

Emma breathed a sigh of relief and then she decided to really test the waters. "And what have you learned from this?"

Hermione blushed and looked down. "I need to think things through more. I hurt people that I had no right to hurt. I let my temper and my arrogance get the best of me."

Emma nodded in satisfaction. "Good girl. I'm afraid you get that from your father. He grew out of it, but it cost him his relationship with his father. You never knew your grandfather. He died a few months before you were born, but your father and he fought a couple years earlier. They weren't able to patch things up before he died and you're father has always regretted it. Do try hard, Hermione. Don't let that happen to you."

Hermione placed the teacup on a side table and stood. "I won't, Mum. If I can fix this, I will. If I can't, it'll be something I'll remember for a long time."

Emma watched her daughter leave, then she turned back to her notes. She helped teach the teens, offering classes both in History, as well as English Literature, which allowed her to indulge her passion for Shakespeare.

The only consolation for her at this point was the fact that all of the girls had seen the gynecologist and were on the birth control potion. Shaking from her sour mood, she turned back to her notes on the second act of Julius Caesar.

**Office of the Deputy Minister of Magic, March 9th...**

Sir William O'Hearny looked up and smiled when he saw Albus entering the room. He had been away in Berne helping set up the peace talks between Italy and Greece. Both countries had come to the talks with a great deal of anger and hostility aimed at each other and the people that had forced the talks to occur.

"Albus, welcome home!"

The old man smiled at the muggle and nodded before going to his desk and sitting heavily.

"Rough going?" Sir William asked. He stood from his desk and went over to a tea service kept in the office, and poured two cups. He handed one to Albus, then he leaned against the desk.

"The two involved parties are being... difficult," Albus admitted. "The embargo is in place and there have been several attempts to circumvent it. We believe we've foiled most of them, but undoubtedly some have been successful. The Greek and Italian ministries are telling their own people that the embargo is an attempt to force their countries to submit to a foreign power. Neighboring wireless stations are broadcasting the truth and we are trying to get newspapers to the populace, but results have been mixed, at best. As I reminded my fellow delegates, these governments had a firm control over everything until we stepped in.

"I think that, in the end, they will have no choice but to talk. It will take time, but they will have no choice really. Already there are shortages of wizarding products that they rely on. The travel ban is hurting their industry and scaring their populace. People are starting to lose faith in their ministry of magic."

"I have to tell you, you really shocked the PM when you altered his requirement to include returning the power back to the normals," Sir William said.

Albus took a sip of his tea and smiled at the taste. It was so hard to get good tea on the continent! "William, I have seen first hand the power your people wield. I know Lord Kennewick was making plans for forcing the wizards to give up power. We hold the power to hurt each other very badly, but your numbers and technology would assure a victory. Don't let our experience with the WDF lead you into believing all wizards would be that incompetent and arrogant.

"I made that change because without it, many people would have died on both sides before the normal people regained control of their country. In some ways, I guess I am working to atone for past mistakes," Albus admitted.

"Atone?" asked a surprised Sir William.

"I have done much good in my life and much that was questionable. I made a serious error in judgment and condemned a child to a life of neglect and abuse. I can't undo that mistake. The best I can do is make things as easy as possible for him, and for all the other children that come after him. If I can prevent a war between normals and wizards, then that is what I will do. So that all children can grow up in peace."

William nodded. "We all have regrets, Albus. And while I can't lay claim to as many years as you, I can tell you that, sooner or later, you have to look back at your life and say you did your best. That's all any one of us can do."

Albus smiled at that. "Perhaps you are right. Regardless of my motivation, it was the right thing to do."

Sir William laughed, "It was, but I need to warn you. That kind of action is liable to either get you a solid kick in the pants or high honor from the Queen herself. It's still debatable which you'll earn, but if these talks pay off, people may soon be calling you Sir Albus."

Albus blinked and looked up. "No! I never expected," he protested. He stopped when Sir William laughed again.

"None of us do, Albus. I understand you hold an Order of Merlin for your actions against Grindelwald. Did you set out to fight him with the intent to win the award, or did you set out to deal with a problem that was spiraling out of control?"

"I was just trying to end the madness," Albus said softly.

William nodded. "And you earned the thanks of your people because of it. Should Greece and Italy return power to where it belongs, I suspect you'll earn the thanks of a grateful monarch because you will have saved the lives of her subjects who would otherwise have had to fight. What is it that you and Lord Mills have been telling the Weyrleader? This is one of those times when you smile and say thank you, no matter how embarrassed it makes you feel."

Albus nodded numbly. His added requirement had been a spur of the moment thing that he was sure would be rejected. To his surprise, the ICW adopted the wording of his proposal in its entirety, including the stipulation that those countries return power to the muggles.

William straightened and walked back to his desk. He waved towards the empty desk normally occupied by Croaker. "I wish I could say events on all fronts are proceeding as well. I'm afraid that the dragon's intervention at the Hogsmeade school has caused quite a stir in our little rebels. Our man inside their group reported that they are pulling back from running anymore operations until they can come up with a counter to the dragons. If they can't counter them, they'll start attacking targets that aren't protected by the dragons.

"Alejandro is down in the DMLE office right now trying to make sense of some of the reports they're getting. There's been a recent rash of sightings of people, foreigners mostly, looking over places like Diagon Alley and Godric's Hallow. We don't know what to make of that just yet."

Albus nodded unhappily. It seemed like things were happening here at home. He made a note to talk to Croaker later.

"Let me prepare this report to the PM, then I'll go talk to Alejandro. Perhaps another set of eyes will help figure things out," Albus offered.

Sir William nodded and sat back down. He had his own report to write, this one addressed to the Ministry of Defense. Lord Kennewick wanted to stand down the ready brigade of heavy tanks and he was planning on asking that Kennewick delay that order for now.

**Chinese Embassy Athens, March 9th...**

Colonel Jin Tan Mu paced the small room he had been given as an office. The embassy was smaller than the one in London and not as well equipped. The station chief had been a corrupt fool who was unprepared to deal with the Colonel.

He hadn't been on location at the embassy more than two days when he ordered the station chief arrested and returned to Beijing for trial. The condition of the station and the security of the embassy itself were at risk, thanks to the man's lack of action. The chief of station had then tried to cover up his incompetence by bribing the Colonel with money and offers of western women.

The downside to that move on his part became immediately apparent when the detail arrived to escort the former station chief back home. They carried coded orders telling him that he would have assume the duties of station chief and put the embassy to rights. The Colonel was appalled. He knew the Ministry of State Security concentrated its resources on sending spies to the Russian and English speaking nations. Finding someone who spoke Greek and could fill in under the typical cover of Press Attache could take months.

He resented the cavalier dismissal of his concerns by Beijing and he resented being stuck in this backwater embassy when a real crisis was brewing in Britain!

He glanced up at the map showing the island of Othonoi which had been heavily damaged. What few resources on the ground that he had were in the wrong position to tell him much about what happened there. He had reviewed some footage shot by Skynews that was far superior to the half dozen snapshots taken by the only agent they had who could get to the scene.

Fully one third of the island was gone, including a town of seventy five hundred people. It had been wiped from the face of the earth by, if you believe the eye witness reports from Skynews, a series of soundless flashes of light.

He shook his head. Skynews had found several people that the Imperialist Government were now laughing at because they claimed to have seen all manner of monsters before the soundless explosions rocked the island. The Colonel knew better, however. The witnesses had reported creatures he had seen for himself in the past.

This was looking more and more like a war of some sort between magical forces and didn't involve the Imperialist government at all. And that was exactly what he planned on reporting to Beijing. In that same report, he would repeat his request to return to Britain with all possible haste to deal with the developing threat there.

He had no way of knowing that the Ambassador to Britain had returned to China days ago and had been in high level talks with the Premiere since he arrived.

**Dragon Infirmary, Hangar Seven, Campbeltown Weyr, March 9th...**

"May?"

May looked up from the large cauldron she was using to create more bandage paste and sighed. _It seems the rumor mill was right for once,_ she thought unkindly, then she straightened up and motioned to Alice Wagner to watch the cauldron.

"Come on, Hermione. Let's talk in my office," she said softly.

May walked across the large floor of the hangar to an office right next to Hagrid's. She opened the door and flipped on the lights, then held the door open for Hermione. Once the other girl had entered, she closed the door again and went to sit behind her desk, motioning Hermione to have a seat opposite her.

"I take it your here about Harry," May said flatly. This was the time she had been dreading. Hermione wanted Harry back and was here to tell her that. She knew Harry held considerable feelings for Hermione.

Hermione nodded. "I am, but I don't want to give you the wrong idea."

May blinked and looked closer at the girl, "About?"

"I have, once more, hurt him badly. I need to tell him how sorry I am and apologize, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

Hermione's hands twisted in her lap. "I tried to meditate. I really tried. But when Marty entered my Weyr it was like someone flipped a switch in me. Suddenly I was tearing at his clothing. There was no emotion except pure lust."

She shook her head, trying to throw away the memory, while May stared at her in shocked surprise. May understood that had Harry not come along, she would have responded exactly like Hermione did.

"Anyway, I want you to know that I'm just going to apologize, not take him away from you," Hermione offered softly.

May relaxed slightly and smiled. "Actually, I don't think you could take him away from me," she replied. "Something Luna said to me the other day has been going through my head constantly. She said if he had to make a choice between us, he would refuse to hurt either of us. So he wouldn't choose either."

"Luna said something similar to me, as well," Hermione admitted. "She also said the only way I could have Harry now was if I shared him with you."

"The only way that would work is if we had strict rules," May replied cautiously, she wasn't rejecting the idea, to Hermione's intense surprise. "I don't know about you, but girls aren't my cup of tea. I like sleeping with him, and I expect you'll want the same."

Hermione nodded reluctantly. She couldn't believe that she was really considering this with any degree of seriousness. "What the dragon wants, the dragon gets," she muttered a bit sarcastically.

May started and peered across the desk at her then started to laugh. "That is so true. Chekiath wants our dragons and our dragons want him."

Hermione crossed her arms and looked away. "You don't have to do this, May. I appreciate the offer, but really at this point you've won anyway."

May nodded and smiled sadly. "No, I wish that were the case. But this really isn't a competition. Despite the hurt you've caused him, once he found out you were unhappy, he'd dig incessantly until he found out why. And once that happens, you, Harry and I will all lose. He'll pull away from me and none of us will be happy. I don't want to think what that would do to the Weyr. A lot of our morale comes from Harry and our belief in him. An unhappy triangle involving Harry could undermine everything he's trying to accomplish."

"Luna said something very similar, if more bluntly," Hermione said quietly. She looked at May. "Maybe we should talk to Millicent, find out how she's handling it?"

May shook her head. "I don't think you'd like the answer. Milly is with Bob Malwich and Sammy Hinerman. I don't know if it's true, but rumor has it that all three are very active participants and not limited to any particular gender," May said with a bit of a blush.

Hermione blinked several times. Millicent seemed rather happy with the arrangement so no one was going to pry into what went on behind closed doors.

May laughed. "Harry's going to his pop eyeballs out of his head when he learns of this."

Hermione shook her head, picturing it. Then, leaning forward, she looked at May seriously. "So, rules?"

May nodded. "Rules. This might appear to be a teen males dream, but I am not interested in girls and I have no wish for you to join us when we make love. Harry's going to have to live with that."

Hermione nodded. "I agree wholeheartedly. Equally important, we try very hard to make sure we each get equal access to Harry. If there's a conflict, you and I resolve it and not make it a war or drag Harry into it."

May nodded in agreement.

"Sleeping arrangements, then? Do we need to use a schedule? Odd days, even days? That sort of thing?" asked Hermione.

"That's too regimented and I think Harry would object to it," May said with a shrug. "I'm willing to try sharing the bed between the three of us for sleeping. It's big enough now and with your magic it can be made even bigger. If that doesn't work, Harry has extra bedrooms in his house that aren't being used. We can either each take one, or just use one and split up week nights between us."

May leaned back in her chair. "There's a thousand little details to consider, but Harry's got one of the largest houses in the Weyr. There's room for us and several children. I don't know about you, but I really want some children someday."

Hermione nodded. "I guess this is going to take a lot of trial and error," she said, then she sighed. "I still have to apologize to Harry."

May nodded and her expression hardened. "You do. And so help me, Hermione, you hurt him like this again and I'll do my best to talk Harry into moving you to another Weyr. And I won't be the only one. It was only the fact that hurting you would have hurt your dragon that stopped several of the girls from taking their anger out on you."

Hermione flinched and looked down. "I know. Believe me when I say I learned a very valuable lesson last night."

May eyed her for a bit then her expression softened. "Hermione, apologize to Harry, but do not bring this up to him until you are certain what you want. I don't think I need tell you what kind of lover Harry can be. But don't let any issues you have with last night get in the way or you just might ruin things altogether."

Hermione nodded and stood. "I will, May. Thank you," she said softly, then she turned and exited the room.

May sighed and shook her head. She made a decision to talk to Harry tonight and make it plain to him that she hoped they would have a future together. She wouldn't bring up Hermione, but she wouldn't do anything to shoot her down either. May was secure enough in her relationship with Harry to know he wasn't going to throw her out because Hermione apologized to him.

Hermione paused outside of May's office. _"Coma, love, are Harry and Chekiath in the Weyr?"_

"_They left the Weyr a little while ago, something about having to deal with a problem at Condron Weyr,"_ Comaloth said. _"Are you just about done apologizing?"_

Hermione shook her head. _"No, love. Since Harry's away, I'll have to catch him later. How about Susan? I should really talk to her."_

"_Susan is in the social hall sitting with Mark Harper,"_ Comaloth offered happily. She was very pleased that her rider was making peace. The last few months had been hard on both of them.

Hermione nodded. She knew Susan had an interest in Mark and idly wondered if Susan slept with Mark when their dragons rose.

**Campbeltown Weyr, much later that same day...**

May glanced up from doing her homework when she heard the wall mechanism start to slide clear so Chekiath could enter the building. She had been waiting for Harry to return and wasn't sure when he'd be back. She had also asked Dobby to prepare a platter of cold cuts and breads along with some hot soup so that she and Harry could have a meal together.

Harry trudged in with Chekiath and when he saw May, he smiled tiredly.

She closed her book and stood up while they both waited for the door to close. The dragon doors had a major drawback of letting out all the heat, but that was offset by the fact that the dragon beds radiated warmth so it didn't take long for the house to warm up again.

"You look beat," she said.

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He peel off his flight jacket and laid it carelessly over the back of a chair. "It's been a long day, and my trip to Condron turned out to be for the exact reason why I didn't want two Weyrleaders," he grumbled, then he shook his head. "They're still working things out but they wanted me to mediate a very simple matter."

She nodded and gestured towards the bedroom. "Why don't you go take a hot shower and get comfortable. I had Dobby make a light meal for us. There's some hot soup and fixings for sandwiches. We can talk while you eat."

He nodded and disappeared into the bedroom.

She moved to the chair, intending to picking up Harry's jacket and put away, when Dobby appeared and took it. The little elf smiled shyly at her. "Dobby takes extra good care of Harry Potter. You don't have to worry about that, Miss May."

May smiled. "I never worry when you're around, Dobby."

The elf blushed and popped out.

She sat at the table and poured herself a cup of tea. Dobby popped back in and with a snap of his fingers the soup was steaming again.

Twenty minutes later, Harry stepped from the bedroom wearing a robe over his boxers and t-shirt. He smiled at her, took a seat across the table and quickly assembled a sandwich and ladling out soup for two. He passed her a bowl and she picked from the platter some cheese and a hard roll.

"Skip and Kat were arguing with each other. And while this is the first time they asked me to get involved, it turned out to be a rather lame reason for fighting," he said after taking a bite of his sandwich.

"What were they fighting about?"

He paused and looked over at her. "Skip is a large guy and I think Kat is a little intimidated, even if she is a witch. He wanted to shuffle the wing pairs so that each normal rider had a magical partner. It wasn't possible to match everyone up because they don't have an even mix. That led Skip to decide that the searches should strive to be more evenly mixed. Of course Kat took that to mean Skip was trying to set up couples where the normals would be mixed with wizards.

"I spoke to Skip about it and he honestly had no idea along those lines. He just felt that a wing pairing that mixes normal and magical would give the pairing an extra advantage. On the other hand, Kat seems to think that it's some kind of breeding program.

"Jasper Brady told me that he thinks Kat has some interest in Skip, but Skip is so easy going and gets along with everyone that she's a bit jealous of that. She is one of those people that seem to be very formal until you get to really know them. Jasper told me he thinks Skip is interested in Kat, but her magic intimidates him."

She blinked and stared at him in surprise. The idea of Skip being intimidated shocked her. He was enormous! Over six feet and with a powerful physique, she couldn't imagine little Kat causing him any problems.

He smiled at her. "I can practically hear what you're thinking," he said.

"Oh? What am I thinking?"

"That you can't imagine someone like Skip being afraid of someone a foot shorter than he is, but you're forgetting she's a witch," he said, then gestured with his hand and his wand snapped into place from its holster on his forearm. "We don't make a big deal about it, but this is a dangerous tool. A wand capable of casting magic like this wand killed my parents. It can be used to cure or kill. One of my friends had his parents tortured into insanity shortly after my parents were killed. They've been confined to hospital ever since. Skip understands that. It's not so much that he's afraid of her as much as he respects the fact that magic levels the field between them. He might out mass her, but she can flick her wand and have him dancing a jig naked in front of his parents and enjoying it. So he's cautious around her. They'll work it out, I'm sure."

"And the wing pairings?" she asked.

He grinned. "I called in the Weyr and explained the idea to them. Then I suggested that they separate into groups based by Wing and talk to each other about pairing up. The pairings aren't permanent, nor does it suggest in any way their future relationships unless they want it to happen. I told Skip and Kat to let them shuffle their pairing if they wanted and just try it for a couple weeks."

He leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his sandwich. He shook his head a few moments later and chuckled. "I pulled them aside a bit later and chewed them out for not solving this kind of problem themselves. When I left they were talking to each other instead of Kat yelling and Skip trying to calm her down, so maybe I got through to them. Did I miss anything here?"

May thought about that for a moment. "Hermione came back from Disko. Luna volunteered to fill in for her for a few days."

Harry stretched out his legs under the table and looked at her. He knew far more about what was going on than the girls knew. "Oh? What brought her back here?"

"Her experience with Comaloth rising wasn't a good one, Harry," May said softly. She knew she was on thin ice here but she didn't feel comfortable lying or trying to evade the issue with him.

He nodded slowly. "Marty?" he asked.

May glanced up sharply and nodded.

Harry frowned and had to admit that hurt just about as much as when she didn't show up when he needed her. He sighed then. "Cheki told me that Olaronth covered Comaloth. I'm sorry she had to go through that," he muttered. "Marty spoke to me via Olaronth today. Now I understand why Olaronth wanted to know if I was mad at his rider. He probably thought I was going to kick his arse."

He fell silent for a moment and when he began to speak again, it was very quietly. "I cannot be angry for what happens between riders during first risings. It catches us all unawares and none of us used the calming potion we made available. By the time the feelings hit, it's too late. I am sorry that Hermione went through that."

"So you don't feel the urge to go to her now?" May blurted in surprise.

Harry looked across the table at her for a moment. Pulling off his glasses, he wiped his face tiredly. "May," he said slowly, putting his glasses back on, "in case you haven't noticed, it's you who has a key to this cottage. It's you who sleeps in my bed. I admit, I care very deeply about Hermione despite the hurt she's caused, but she caused her own problem and now she needs to find her own solutions."

He paused and pinned her with his gaze. "I also know that you and Hermione spent considerable time together bargaining with each other. I think you were bargaining over how you were going to share the Weyrleader," he said. It was clear from his tone that something about that prospect wasn't making him happy.

"How did you know?" she blurted, suddenly feeling like she was eight and caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Harry pointed behind her and she craned her neck around to see Chekiath laying in his stall, rumbling softly, his eyes twirling softly with streaks of green. "As Cheki told me, he wants Trath and Comaloth as his... 'consorts', and you were bargaining with Hermione to see how I would get their riders as my consorts. I have spent the last year explaining to Chekiath that humans don't do relationships like that, but he refuses to listen."

Chekiath increased his rumbling. He knew his rider had just about given up fighting him over this. He would be much happier with two riders than just one. It was the way of dragons for the powerful males to have consorts. Chekiath was very content with the bargain the girls agreed to. Dragons were incapable of more than one on one mating, so as far as he was concerned, Harry limiting himself to one girl at a time was right and fair.

She turned back to look at him. "I would have thought the idea would appeal to you. After all, two girls willing to sleep with you must be the dream of every teen male," she said in surprise.

He reached up and scratched the back of his neck for a moment. "It probably is the dream of every guy, even me, but I'm a realist. I'm not sure I could fully please one girl, let alone two. There are some nights where you leave me exhausted. And when you add in the idea that you and Hermione are making decisions that involve me but not asking what I feel? I'm not too thrilled by it. I will let this slide this time, but do not go behind my back again, I've had my fill of people manipulating my life and won't stand for it anymore, not even from people I care deeply for."

May winced because his comment was spot on. She and Hermione had made decisions without involving him and was she surprised that he was upset by that. "I'm sorry," she said contritely.

Harry leaned across the table and lifted her chin with a gentle hand. "I know. Just don't do it again. Consider this our first real fight and we'll move on from here. I still think that I can't handle one girl let alone two. But if you're both set on it and the dragons are already set on it, we'll give it a try."

She knew that he would doubt his abilities personally. That seemed to be an inherent part of him. He exuded confidence as Harry Potter, the Weyrleader of all of the dragons on Earth, but Harry Potter the man had little confidence in himself on a personal level.

"Harry, nothing has been decided other than how Hermione and I can approach this problem without hurting you, adding further pressure or attempting to kill each other. It's true we were working things out between ourselves first, and perhaps we should have included you in that discussion, but you weren't here at the time. You were at Condron Weyr.

"Each of us have our own fears to deal with because of this. This isn't going to be easy for us. But never think that we'd do something without you knowing about it," May concluded.

"Fears?"

"You think you'll have trouble pleasing one girl, let alone two. You know how I feel about you. You're everything I could wish for in a lover. And you've never failed to leave me a melted puddle of happiness in bed," May said. To her amusement Harry blushed and looked down. "Hermione had a terrible first time and is afraid you'll never forgive her for what she did."

He nodded, expecting that from Hermione. "And you?" he asked gently.

May looked down and didn't speak.

"You're afraid I'll leave you for Hermione?" he prompted.

She nodded.

He sighed. Standing, he walked around the table and knelt by her side so he could look her in the eye. "May, maybe I am a sicko, or maybe Chekiath has finally convinced me, but I've wanted you since I met you. Both of you, actually. Chekiath is hoping for Trath and Comaloth to have eggs from their coupling. I'm a little more conservative, but I hope we're together long enough that I can have a family."

"Hermione and me?" she whispered.

He smiled. "Only if you can avoid killing each other," he said, then his expression turned serious. He waved a hand around, taking in the room. "This little house needs to be an island of calm. I know having children would bring a disruption to that, but it's a different kind of disruption than what I deal with outside in the Weyr. And children are a disruption I'm not ready for yet. Maybe in five or six years, certainly after we're done with our schooling."

He reached up and ran a hand along her arm. "I promise you that I'll not do anything to hurt either of you."

May smiled a bit wistfully, understanding what he was saying.

"I do love you, you know," he said softly, surprising himself.

May laughed at his expression. Gently wrapping her arms around his head, she pulled him to her breast. "I love you too," she whispered.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- A minor note to the folks that love to leave reviews of "Good chapter X" where X is the chapter number. Yes I have blocked you from reviewing. Sorry if this bothers you, but I do read reviews and honestly you might as well be entering "Kilroy was here" for your review. It has the same impact and meaning. In one particular case a person was sent a pm asking them nicely to cease stamping chapters like so many movie tickets and it was ignored. So if you're one of these people now you know why you can't review anymore.

- BJH complained that Harry and Hermione spent valentine's day at a hatching. I'm sure many a president, king and prime minister have also spent general and personal holidays doing crap they didn't want to do. It's called responsibility.

- A number of folks left reviews agreeing with my complaint about people spitting back canon at us. Folks, there is a review system that allows you to make your opinion known. I have ripped into authors for repeating canon, but I'm in the minority. If you don't like the fact that you know what's coming because the author is following the books, say so. If more people did that, there would be less canon copies out there. Believe it or not, the author isn't going to try to track you down to beat you up if you leave a critical review.

- The number of people that want a public flogging of Hermione is amazing and amusing. But, it's not going to happen. She's a teenager and for all her vaunted intelligence, she's still a stupid teenager. The issue here is complex because it's not just people involved. Chekiath influences Harry and Harry influences Chekiath. The dragons are playing such a role that even with the relationship between May and Harry, it also included Chekiath and Trath. Hence its already a FOUR WAY relationship even if the dragons aren't included in the human sex acts. Chekiath is the alpha dragon in the whole world, he could have asked for dozens of consorts, but he's allowed Harry's influence to moderate that to a more manageable number.

- ladywatertiger wants to know if we'll be writing any other Harry Potter crossovers. At this point there are no plans to do so. My take on crossovers is simple. I must be intimately familiar with both universes. That little requirement puts a heavy restriction on what kind of crossovers I can write. Fortunately this also means you won't find a HP/Muppet Babies or HP/Pokemon crossover from us. Thank god!

- Let's clear up one minor issue. A dragon that is sufficiently distracted can be photographed. Ordinarily they have to want to have their picture taken.

- A lot of people want to see Colonel Jin Tan Mu stir fried and hoisted up by his cojones. Well all I can say is patience grasshoppers. Some plot elements are like a fine wine that needs to be aged gently before sampling.

- RDG2000, Draco is in the story, but he's not a main person like he was in our Sun rise/set series. In this particular story he's one of the lucky few to become a rider and he does have some distinction as Wing leader of Wing Three and a cute muggle girlfriend, but that's about it. We'll see him from time to time as needed.

- And finally a story recommendation with a twist.

**Guy Fawkes Day** by MisterQ

StoryID: 4081448

This is actually a one shot horror story where you are left deciding for yourself if Harry is evil or not. It's also VERY different. Published in 2008 it's a decent tale of a conversation between Harry and Hermione. Harry destroys the Wizarding world leaves Hermione with a very unpleasant problem. Enjoy!


	11. Chapter 11

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Harry stepped onto the stage looking decidedly unhappy. "Alyx is still on the run from the law. She sent in an update to her Who Who epic from a motel six somewhere south of Tijuana. Bob on the other hand was caught by the naked donut delivery girls and it took eight different SWAT teams to rescue him. We still can't explain why the Miami SWAT showed up to help, but the naked donut delivery girls seemed to enjoy them."

Chekiath poked his head out from behind the curtain. _"In this chapter's Who Who epic, Draco's artistically sculpted plaster Who Whos have attracted the attention of the idle rich. He has accepted a commission to build the world's largest Who Who for Dubai. It will be added to their list of tourist attractions, although there has been some speculation that Trojan has been consulted in an attempt to protect the Who who from the rain._

"_Snape continues to dance for dollars, unknowing of Draco's success. He hopes to have enough money to invest in Hydraulic Who Who research for Draco. It is a safer alternative to Alyx's steam powered Who Who." _

Harry sighed and looked down at the paper in his hand and shook his head. "The shit I have to do to get my story told," he muttered then he looked up and smiled. "Meanwhile the Evil Emperor Darth Dumbledore is still approaching Slobnovia. It seems that he spent all his money building the thing and can't afford any fuel. Prince Hermione aboard the Millennium Pigeon would have saved the day, but it turns out it was a homing pigeon and no one can steer the thing."

Harry looked painfully at the audience.

Up in the control room Bob raised in his glass in salute. "It's amazing what a few rumors can do. Alyx is running because she thinks she's being hunted. Harry and Chekiath are doing the disclaimers and I can relax with my girls. Oh and we don't own Harry Potter if anyone cares. I'd like to say we do own the dragons, but I've been told that making such a claim will result in dragons burning down my house so we don't own them either."

* * *

**Eating Words has never given me indigestion.  
-Winston Churchill**

**St. Mungos, London, March 11th...**

Harry entered the building along with Albus Dumbledore, who he had personally invited to come along. The last few days had been strange. Hermione had returned to Disko to complete her duties with her Wing and had not sought him out as he'd expected. He and May continued on as usual, not speaking anymore about the possible triangle looming in their lives.

Rather than worry over it, it was Weyr business as usual, and this was special business today. Today he was going to keep a promise he had made months ago.

"Harry, stop smirking," Albus chided as they walked up the stairs. Albus was used to people pointing and whispering as he walked anywhere in the wizarding world. The reaction to Harry in his distinctive uniform was entirely different. The papers had been full of news about the dragons preventing the attack at Hogsmeade, and now stories were being picked up from the Americas of a second Weyr called Condron that also boasted magical and muggle riders. Respect for the riders was building with each story.

"Sorry, Albus, but you have to admit it's funny. They can't seem to decide if I'm dangerous or not," Harry replied. "You attract attention and many people smile and wave at you. People step back and look at me warily and whisper to each other."

Albus sighed. "We have fame, Harry. Most people go their entire lives without achieving that in any way. Some wish they were us, many admire us, some fear what we represent. All of them know we're different. The trick you must learn is that no matter what they think, you must treat them like you're no different than they are."

"Doesn't it ever bother you?" Harry asked curiously.

Albus smiled sadly. "Yes. It would be nice someday to be able to just visit friends and be treated like I was one of them. But everyone fusses so when I visit."

Harry nodded. He was beginning to understand that. "I know. The only ones who don't fuss are Sirius and Remus. And Chekiath, of course. Even my riders do it to an extent."

Albus stopped and turned to face him. "You are in a difficult position, and one far more difficult than I ever envisioned for you. You started your life as the Boy-Who-Lived and I am certain that someday that title will be a minor footnote in the history of the world's first Weyrleader. And if the gossip I hear from Remus is correct, there are at least two girls who think you're extraordinary in a very personal way."

Albus' eyes twinkled madly and he grinned as the young man blushed. He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Come! Let us get on with our visit."

"Thank you, Albus," Harry replied. He never thought he'd be able to have these kind of conversations with the old man, but the past year had changed them both in ways neither fully understood.

Albus turned and pushed open a door to the sixth floor pediatric ward. Both men exited to the main lobby and were surprised to see the staff arrayed before them, along with Mr and Mrs Kincaid and their two children, William and Connie.

The pants William wore showed obvious signs that one leg had been altered to allow for extra room.

His eyes lit up when he spotted Harry. He craned around to the window hoping to see Chekiath.

Harry laughed and walked over to him. "No, he's not here this time, William. My friend Albus and I are here to take you and your family to where he's waiting to see you."

William grinned broadly and nodded. Harry looked over at his parents. "Mr and Mrs Kincaid, I want to thank you."

"No, Weyrleader, it's we who are thankful. Willie told us what your dragon said to him, holding him here. I don't know if he was just dreaming or not, but he believes that the dragon kept him from passing over. That's good enough for me," Mr. Kincaid said firmly. "All he could talk about during this time was seeing the dragons."

"And when things were especially tough, he'd cling to that stuffed dragon the Weyr sent him," Mrs Kincaid added.

"All the children did," added a healer. "Those toys were a real blessing to the children. We try to keep some toys for them, but we don't really have a budget for it. Receiving a box of animated animals really caused quite a stir. Picked the kids right up, it did, and the timing couldn't have been better, coming just before the Yule holiday."

Harry smiled. "I'll tell Sirius Black that his gift was appreciated then," he replied. "We probably would have done the same thing, but Sirius beat us to the punch."

The healer looked stunned. Sirius had been cleared officially, but many still considered him a very shady character. The idea that he was responsible for sending toys to sick children seemed very out of character for the man.

Harry looked down at William, then over to Albus and nodded.

Albus fished a cord from his pocket. "If you will allow, I'll apparate young William to the Weyr, while everyone else can use this portkey. I daresay he might find the landing of a portkey too difficult."

The elder Kincaids exchanged a look, then they nodded. This was Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards in Britain. He'd see no harm came to William.

Albus handed the cord to Harry, who grabbed one end and passed it around. Mrs. Kincaid took Connie's hand and placed it on the rope, then she grabbed her daughter's free hand. "Hold on tightly, sweetie," she said.

Once everyone gripped the rope, Albus touched it with his wand and they vanished with a whoosh. He smiled at the small boy, who looked at him worriedly. "Not to fear, young William. We'll be joining them in a moment."

He nodded to the healers, who smiled and waved to William, pleased to see him leaving on two feet instead of in a box. Albus gripped the boy tightly by his shoulder and they vanished with a pop.

Albus and William reappeared on the tarmac in front of Hangar two, not far from where Harry was climbing to his feet. An alarm rang from the administration building and the doors on the hangars opened. The Weyr spilled out of their buildings, trumpeting welcome to William and his family.

Harry grinned, seeing the alarmed look on the parent's faces. "Don't worry, the dragons are just excited to see William and Connie. They love children and Chekiath told them all about your two children."

"_It is more than that, Weyrleader,"_ Spath said.

Harry glanced over to Spath, who stood nearby, then he looked back at the Kincaids. "Mr and Mrs Kincaid, allow me to introduce you to Spath. He's is the oldest dragon alive.

Spath moved a little closer to the pair and bobbed his head in greeting._"Welcome to our Weyr. I noted the little wizard limps badly. Will that be the way he'll walk from now on?"_

Mrs. Kincaid grimaced and nodded. "He lost his leg in the attack. They tried to regrow a new one using a new set of spells, but they have had only limited success. My son is alive, but his leg will always be a problem for him."

Spath glanced over at William, Connie and Albus, who were surrounded by dragons. Connie was enjoying the attention almost as much as William was, but it was impossible to miss the occasional flash of pain in the little boy's expression.

Spath turned back to Harry and the parents. _"We know of injuries that make walking hard. Life will be easier for him when he joins the Weyr."_

Harry looked at Spath in shock. "He's a potential rider?" he blurted.

"_Both the wizard and the witch are, Weyrleader. In time, they will be found again in search."_

"I don't understand," Mr. Kincaid said sourly. "What's this about Willie and Connie?"

Harry turned to the stunned parents. "It seems that both of your children can be dragon riders. When they're fifteen, they'll be asked if they would like to join the Weyr and be offered a chance to impress a dragon of their own."

Harry dropped his voice so that only the parents could hear. "The possibility of William being a rider would lessen the impact of his handicap. A dragon can do a lot for their rider. It would give him a degree of mobility that he doesn't have now."

Mrs. Kincaid looked at her children, then looked at her husband. "We don't have to decide anything today, Walt. Fifteen is still years away, but look at them," she said.

He glanced over at the children, both of who were smiling broadly.

Harry noted that Ronan was sitting astride Garanoth and Sammy Hinerman was helping lift William into position in front of Ronan. Nearby, another pair of riders were lifting Connie into place. They were only going to fly around the Weyr, so they didn't need to don the heavy riding jackets.

When the two dragons leapt into the air, both kids screamed in surprise, then quickly switched to laughter. Around the two dragons forty more joined them in escort.

When Harry turned back to the parents, he saw Sirius and Remus standing nearby, with Luna behind them.

"I'd like you to meet Sirius Black," he said, waving Sirius forward.

Mrs Kincaid gasped and rushed Sirius.

Sirius stood in shocked surprise as the woman hugged him tightly and whispered a heartfelt thank you in his ear.

"Your toys were very well received, Sirius," Harry said softly

Sirius blinked, then he grinned rakishly. "Good! I knew old Fritz only made the best toys."

Remus stepped up behind Sirius. "Why don't we get in out of the cold? The children will be fine. The riders will land in a bit and bring them to the kitchen hall, where we have plenty of hot chocolate and some of Honeydukes' finest biscuits waiting."

The parents nodded, still a bit shocked and they followed Remus and Sirius towards the kitchen hall. Harry started to follow, when Luna stopped him.

"Really, Harry," she said, sounding disappointed. "I thought it was my job to find us new riders."

He grinned. "I just wanted to show you that can I contribute, Luna," he replied. He was onto her game now and wasn't going to let her shock him anymore.

She arched an eyebrow at him, then stepped closer. Normally Harry would have backed up, but this time he didn't. He looked at her passively and waited. "I know another way you can contribute," she said, trying to sound as seductive as possible.

He smiled at her. "It's an interesting offer, but I'm afraid that first you'll have to clear that sort of thing with May, and maybe Hermione. I will admit it's tempting, but I'm not suicidal and I know May would kill me. Who knows? They might agree and the four of us in the same bed would result in interesting times, I'm sure."

She gasped and stared at him with slightly wild eyes.

He sketched a slight bow and left Luna staring after him.

She shook her head, a bit dazed. She admitted to herself that, for the first time, someone had managed to discombobulate her!

Later that evening, Harry tiredly crawled into bed, feeling much better about the day. The Kincaids had spent several hours touring the facilities, then the entire family was bundled up in warm clothing and taken home via dragonback.

That both children were potential candidates surprised the Weyr. Even when Chekiath spoke to William in the hospital, holding him to this plane, he had no idea the child could be a rider someday. May suggested that Chekiath touching William's mind altered him. Most were ready to believe that until Remus pointed out that it didn't explain Connie, or the fact that Spath and Luna were the only ones certain the two children could impress. The other dragons weren't sure.

Harry had their names entered into the book of potentials and made a note to make sure they were at least offered a chance to come to the Weyr at the appropriate time.

"The dragons really love children," May commented as he settled into bed.

He chuckled. "They love anyone who will scratch their eye ridges, but yeah. It ought to be interesting when we start having children. If they could change diapers they would be the best babysitters."

Her smiled broadened. "How many children do you want?"

He fluffed his pillow then settled down and she scooted over so that her head rested on his shoulder. "I never really thought about it," he said. "I guess a boy and a girl would be nice. Or course, a large family would mean making love more."

"You don't need a large family to have that," May countered with a chuckle.

"No, I suppose not. I guess the answer to your question would have to be whatever you're comfortable with," he said.

She smiled and cuddled into him. Two sounded about right to her, too. It was with that thought drifting through their minds that they fell asleep.

**Chinese Embassy London, March 12th...**

"Comrade Captain, we received a high priority coded dispatch for you," said the watch communications officer. "It's encrypted with the Ministry of State Security highest cypher."

Wei Fong glanced up and nodded to the Lieutenant. He stood and walked over to a wall safe and opened it, then he removed a special cipher pad. He walked over to a table where the communications officer joined him.

Checking the date in Beijing on his wall calendar, he flipped through the book until he found the appropriate one time pad, then he pulled two blank pads out, handing one to the communications officer. Together they each decrypted the message slowly, working through the one time pad and applying the correct substitutions. This code was one of the most secret and wasn't even trusted to be decoded by computer yet.

Finally, Wei Fong leaned back in his chair and read the decrypted message, while he waited for the communications officer to complete his decryption. The man was a reliable sort, but he rarely had to work with this particular cypher system the Ministry of State Security imposed over the normal encryption scheme used for all diplomatic messages.

Finally, the communications officer put his pencil down and the two men exchanged messages to ensure they had decrypted the message correctly.

Wei Fong glanced down and read quickly.

_message start_

_To: Chief of Station, London Embassy._

_Cease all plans to assault facility on western coast of Scotland known as Campbeltown. Colonel Jin Tan Mu's plan to attack facility is hereby canceled by order of the Committee for State Security and the Premiere. Stop._

_Colonel Jin Tan Mu's has been reassigned. The matter of Campbeltown is now an issue for the Politburo. Stop._

_Continue to maintain a discrete surveillance only. No one is to approach target facility under any circumstances. Stop._

_Ambassador Jiang Enzhu returning to London in two days. He will provide further briefing. Stop._

_Ministry of State Security 08XBJGR42_

_message end_

Wei Fong placed the message down on the table. "It is the same as mine, Comrade Lieutenant," he said.

The communications officer nodded, then he picked up both messages and placed them in a large ashtray set up for this purpose. Using a lighter he set both messages on fire. The two men watched the paper burn to ash, then they stood.

"I will have messages to send within the hour, Comrade Lieutenant," the station chief said.

"Do you wish for me to send you a girl to take dictation?"

"Yes, do that. Also order the on duty security officer to lock down Comrade Mu's office. Later, he and I will deal with placing the materials inside into appropriate storage," Wei Fong replied.

The watch officer nodded. "Yes, Comrade Captain," he said, then he turned and exited the room.

Wei Fong turned to eye the large map of the United Kingdom that adorned his wall. The message had several astounding elements. It wasn't unusual for an operation, even one in the planning stages, to be canceled. But to be canceled from the Premiere was unprecedented. He had been with the Ambassador, posing as a aide when the man visited Campbeltown. The Ambassador had informed Wei Fong that he would personally brief the Premiere and had left for home immediately following that visit. Wei Fong's own personal report to the Ministry of State Security was transmitted several days after the Ambassador had left.

He had toured the Weyr, along with the Ambassador, but he had not been present during the negotiations. It had become abundantly clear to everyone that the Ambassador spoke perfect English and didn't need someone to translate for him. The Ambassador asked him to wait outside with the rest of the Prime Minister's security detail.

It rankled the intelligence officer that the Ambassador had left him behind while he dealt privately with the imperialist. He had even failed to take the time to explain what had taken place behind those doors. It was a violation of protocol by the Ambassador, but Wei Fong suspected that complaining to his superiors at this point might only cause problems for himself, rather than the Ambassador. Wei Fong was a meticulous individual, but he rarely felt the need to turn people in for poor performance or minor violations. In his entire career, he had arrested only three people.

Dragons were an interesting item, but hardly worthy of bringing it to the Premiere. He had heard the briefing concerning the rocks and hadn't understood the implications of that aspect.

The door opened and a petite young Chinese woman entered. "The comrade lieutenant said you needed someone to take dictation, comrade captain?" she asked in a subdued tone. She was relatively new to the embassy and was naturally wary of the man who was the official arm of the Ministry for State Security.

Wei Fong nodded and gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Yes. I have many messages that need to be coded for field transmission. Communications knows you will be coming with messages."

She sat and placed a pad on one knee. "I'm ready, comrade captain."

**Harry's office, Campbeltown Weyr, March 12th...**

"Harry?"

He glanced up and sighed, then he waved Hermione into his office.

She entered and shut the door behind her. She stood by the door as if she were afraid to come any closer.

"Sit down, Hermione," he said softly. "I'm not going to talk to when you're standing by the door, looking ready to bolt. Gryffindors forward, remember?"

She smiled weakly and nodded, then she moved to sit in a chair facing his desk. He stood and walked around the desk, then he leaned against it, his arms crossed. Every muscle in his body screamed with tension and she could see it. She wasn't much better.

"May said you wanted to talk to me," he prompted. "To be honest, I expected to see you days ago."

"I expected to talk to you days ago," she admitted, "but the Gryffindor in me seems to have fled. I was afraid you wouldn't listen to me."

"I've always listened to you. I might not have followed your advice, or did what you told me to do, but I have always listened to you," he retorted gently.

She nodded, acknowledging that truth. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He leaned slightly closer, his expression tightening. "For?"

"I hurt you. I drove you away when I shouldn't have. I thought I was right and you were just using the dragon as an excuse to have sex with a girl," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"You hurt Susan needlessly, Hermione," he said flatly. "She's a sweet, wonderful girl who helped me when I needed it most, but she wasn't the person I wanted to help me. As nice as that evening eventually turned out to be, there was no connection between us. It was a purely physical act without any emotions attached to it."

He paused and took a deep breath. "I would never tell Susan this and I'll deny I said it, but afterward I felt unfulfilled, almost like it was a let down. She wasn't the person I thought I loved and hoped would be there when I needed her. It made me feel empty and very alone."

She winced at the past tense. He straightened up and walked back around his desk to take his seat, widening the gulf between them. He looked across the desk at her and shook his head. "I'm of two minds about you now and that bothers me. I used to think you'd never hurt me and we'd always be close, but then that damn tournament came up and I learned I wasn't worth your dealing with Ron. Now this. I just don't know what to do."

He fidgeted in his chair, feeling restless, then stood suddenly and stalked to the window. He stared out blankly for a moment, then shook his head. "I know what you and May talked about. Chekiath wants it very much and I know your dragons both want it. I think May is accepting of it, or perhaps resigned is a better word," he said softly, then he turned to her. "How do I know you won't hurt me again? That's twice now that I feel like you've kicked me in the head. This last time I could have gotten past you not coming to me when Cheki rose. You could have simply said you weren't ready, but instead you attacked me and made me feel like shit. You didn't believe me or even Susan when you were told I wasn't in control. And when have I ever gave you the idea that I'd have sex with some random girl for the hell of it?"

She stood and walked over to him. She reached for a moment, then dropped her hand to her side, unwilling to touch him just yet. There was still a huge gulf between them. "When Susan went to you," she said in a near whisper. "I was angry. I was also jealous that she had the courage I lacked. I was certain you could have meditated your way through it. You are the strongest willed person I know. And when you slept with her, I was terribly hurt, so much so that I wanted to hurt you in return."

She looked away and tears started to slide down her cheeks. "When Comaloth rose, I couldn't stop myself. It was like I was suddenly watching my body move against my will. Marty entered my Weyr and he wasn't in much better shape and... and we attacked each other," she said in a gasp. She crossed her arms and she shivered violently. "I tore at his clothing and he tore at mine. There was no reasoning, no talking. We were friends only, coworkers, now driven to a frenzy by our dragons. I cried when it was over. I felt dirty. It wasn't rape, and I certainly couldn't blame Marty. I would have forced myself on any handy male. He wasn't you and I knew that you wouldn't have come to help me like you did with May. You wouldn't come because I made it clear you weren't welcome."

"I'm so sorry," she cried suddenly, then she turned around, unwilling to face him.

Suddenly his arms wrapped around her and she gave into the tears she had been bottling up for days. He pulled her close and let her cry herself out. The gulf still existed between them, but she knew then and there he still cared for her.

"We need to move past the hurt and regret, Hermione," he said gently while he held her. "So much of what happens now depends on you and what you take away from this experience."

Eventually she calmed and he led her over to a chair and pushed her into the seat. Dobby appeared with a tea service and Harry poured her a cup just the way she liked it and handed it to her, then he sat down in another chair, closing the gap a little.

"While I won't say that my experience was as bad as yours, had Susan not learned those healing charms the only thing she would have been able to do is bundle me up and take me to Doctor Sheppard," Harry said. "I was in a lot of pain and I couldn't stop myself. I honestly tried to meditate, and when it got too bad I tried to take care of the problem myself, except that I couldn't...couldn't..."

"You couldn't climax?" she asked.

He nodded his head and blushed. _Leave to Hermione to find a technical term for it,_ he thought. "No, I just kept trying, harder and harder, until I was bleeding. Susan placed me in a partial body bind, then healed me and then she talked me out of the frenzy I had worked myself into. After that, it got better but there was no connection. It was just an act between two friends who wanted to share something."

"I know what you mean," Hermione murmured.

"So, where do we go from here? I won't hurt May," he said firmly.

"May told you about our talk?"

"Only in the briefest of terms. Chekiath was listening to your dragons, since all three dragons were intensely interested in your conversation. I'll tell you what I told May. My house is my calm place, it's the only place I have where I can be Harry and not the Weyrleader. If there is the slightest conflict between you two, I expect you to resolve it calmly, hopefully without dragging me into the fight. I won't take sides."

Hermione nodded with a slight smile, but it slipped when Harry sighed and wiped at his face.

"It's all speculation at this point. I still don't know how to get past questioning whether you'll hurt me again. There's also the fact that it's not just me, anymore. You could also hurt May, and I won't have that. I won't hurt her and won't stand for anyone else hurting her either."

Her expression fell and she silently cursed herself for her actions. Had she not spoken in anger she'd could have been the one in his bed by now and not May. She knew deep down that even if her role with May had been reversed, they'd still be having this conversation because of the dragons. "Then I'll have to work to prove myself worthy of your trust again."

He nodded and looked at her thoughtfully. He carefully considered what the dragons wanted, what May and even he wanted and what would be good for the Weyr. Finally he spoke, "I'll give you that chance. Start coming to my quarters in the evenings. May and I usually have dinner here at seven, rather than in the kitchen hall. After, we spend the evening talking or working on our classwork. Since this involves all three of us, you might as well get to know May better. If you stay too late, you can always use one of the spare bedrooms if you want," he said, then he grinned. "I promise we'll use silencing charms."

She winced slightly at his admission that he was actively sleeping with May and more. Then something he said pinged on her consciousness. "Harry," she said slowly, "did May tell you what we agreed to?"

"No, she said nothing was really decided yet."

"One thing we both did agree upon was that neither one of us is interested in girls. We agreed that the only time we'd both share a bed with you would be for sleeping only," she said. She studied his expression, looking for signs of disappointment.

Harry looked up at her sharply and she was shocked to see a relieved expression. "Thank Merlin for that," he said softly.

At her curious look, he shrugged. "I care for you both deeply and saying 'I love you' seems so inadequate. But the thought of all three of us together at one time had me scared witless. Trying to be the best lover I can is hard enough for one girl, let alone two at once. When I said get to know her better, I wasn't saying become her lover. Just get to know her as a friend, like you know me. If this is to work, we all have to be more than close friends with each other."

She nodded and looked at him a little sheepishly. He had surprised her again. It shocked her to see that she didn't know Harry as well as she thought she did. Once she considered herself an expert on all things Harry Potter, now it seemed she had some catching up to do.

"_Are you two done making up now?"_ Chekiath suddenly asked.

"Speak of the horny horntail that's behind this little setup," Harry said dryly. He turned towards the section of the office where Chekiath had another sand bed.

Chekiath extended his long tail with the foot long horns on the end. It was a vicious looking appendage and he was capable of punching holes through three inch thick steel plate with it. _"Of course, I have a very horny tail and all the females admire it,"_ he proclaimed.

Hermione giggled and Harry groaned into his palms. There was no winning against his dragon.

"I've never met a dragon that understands sarcasm, Harry," Hermione said with a laugh.

**Chinese Embassy, Athens Greece, March 13th...**

In a scene eerily similar to one which occurred only a few days ago, Colonel Jin Tan Mu received his own update to orders from the Chinese government.

"Comrade Colonel, a message has arrived for you. It's coded highest priority," said the Communications Watch officer.

He nodded and walked over to the safe where the decoding pads were kept. He glanced sourly at the watch officer, who was a mere lieutenant and not very good in his opinion. If he had his way, half the staff of this embassy would be sent for reeducation.

Several minutes later, he handed over his decrypted message to the watch officer while he examined the man's work.

_message start_

_To: Colonel Jin Tan Mu, Chief of Station, Athens Embassy._

_You are commanded to assume full duties as chief of station pending assignment of a replacement. Personal effects will be shipped to your location within the week. Given the difficulty involved in finding a suitable replacement it is anticipated that you may be chief of station for a year or more. Stop_

_You are commanded to correct the deficiencies to the station that you noted in your report. Stop._

_Cease all plans to assault facility on western coast of Scotland known as Campbeltown. The plan to neutralize the facility has been canceled by order of the Politburo. This is now a political matter and it will be handled by the appropriate departments. Stop._

_Continue to investigate the conflict between unclean elements of the decadent governments in hopes of exploiting the situation to further destabilize the government. Stop._

_Ministry of State Security 01HDJAG83_

_message end_

He stared at the message in disbelief for a long moment. The Politburo has taken the issue of the Campbeltown into their hands. _Fools!_ He thought angrily. _They cannot understand the danger that facility poses to the party! Something has to be done!_

"Comrade Colonel? Are you well?" asked the watch officer carefully.

The Colonel shook from his mood. He had his orders and he would carry them out. "I am fine, Comrade, just surprised. These orders were unexpected."

"If I may, Comrade Colonel, congratulations on your posting. We have long needed someone to shake out the malcontents here," the Lieutenant said.

The Colonel glanced sharply at the Lieutenant. He could recognize when a subordinate was sucking up, and the Lieutenant had plenty of practice doing just that. He coldly handed the message form to the man with a hard glare. The Lieutenant cringed slightly, then he burned the two message forms.

The Colonel stood and walked over to his desk. "Lieutenant," he said softly.

"Sir?"

"I do not appreciate officers who grovel and cower to their superiors. You are an officer in the People's Liberation Army. Act like it," the Colonel said, then he reached for a smoke.

The Lieutenant swallowed nervously and gave the Colonel a salute. When the Colonel nodded in reply, he turned and made his way to the door.

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Inform the department heads that I want a meeting with them at nine hundred tomorrow morning. Then tell records I want to see the files on all the heads within the hour," the Colonel said.

"Yes, sir."

The door closed and the Colonel took a vicious drag on his cigarette. "Stuck here for a year or more!" he swore to himself. He knew he could speak freely. This room was one of the few in the Embassy that was protected from listening devices. "Fools! They must be made to see the error of their ways."

It was just a minor comment made by a man who had been angered to discover his plan had been rejected. But it was also the start of a crack in the foundation of unswerving obedience the Colonel had had for the past twenty years of his career.

**The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, March 16th...**

Tobias Bunniford took a deep breath and mustered his courage. For weeks he had accepted advice, money and hired help from Carlos the Gerbil and now he deeply regretted it. Carlos had started attending the meetings with his local people. At first he had remained disillusioned and quiet in the meetings, but then he started attending while visible.

His people had asked about him and he had been forced to explain that Carlos was a friend from the continent who wanted to help in their great cause. Carlos smiled congenially to the others at that introduction, but Tobias could see it was the start. Slowly and insidiously, Carlos made himself indispensable to the others. They started looking to Carlos for advice and suggestions, and Carlos had plenty of both.

Carlos was taking over his band of malcontents and turning them into a revolutionary force. The attack on the Hogsmeade school had been Tobias' idea and it had failed miserably. It was only through the efforts of Carlos to restructure the group that they only lost three people to the aurors. Carlos had broken the group into cells and obliviated all knowledge of the general membership from each cell.

On the other hand, Carlos had managed to orchestrate several robberies which brought their group needed funds, and Carlos had recruited a number of people from across the continent. Even Tobias didn't know all of them.

In truth, Tobias was frightened. What had started as a group of like minded friends who would gather for a few pints and the opportunity to spout off about things they didn't like had turned deadly serious. He had never intended to let the group become any more than a bunch of friends who'd get drunk and maybe get a warning for causing a public nuisance.

Before Carlos came along and filled his head with ideas of glory and power, they had confunded a few post owls and sent ink bombs in the mail to the Daily Prophet. Bunniford knew the reputation that Carlos brought with him, and in a moment of pure brilliance, he had spent some gold on some insurance.

Tobias took another deep breath. _It was time to end this,_ he thought. _They've already killed one muggle __teacher and injured children! I make my living selling sweets to children! Now three of their group have been arrested and an auror had been seriously injured. No, this must end before anyone else gets hurt._

Tobias pushed the door open and entered the plush room. The Wand and the Dagger looked like one of the worst places in Knockturn Alley and the bar did boast some of the foulest denizens of the alley. But for the right price you could get room so steeped in luxury that a five star hotel owner would be hard pressed to match it.

Carlos, it seemed, preferred to live in the very best of surroundings. Tobias was surprised to see Anna sitting at a table dressed in a loosely tied dressing gown. It was obvious she was naked underneath her robe. In front of her she had arranged a deck of tarot cards.

"Right on time," she murmured to Carlos.

He sat on an plush armchair, also clad only in a robe. His attire gave Tobias courage. He could see that he held no wand and didn't appear to have one handy.

"Indeed, my sweet," Carlos said. "You are more talented than anyone suspects."

Anna smiled briefly at him. "I do know my way around the deck."

Carlos nodded and eyed her partial nudity for a moment, then he turned to Tobias. "Senor Bunniford, this is most fortuitous. I was just thinking about you and now, here you are," Carlos said. He waved the man to a chair. "Please, have a seat. You have an air about you like you have something important to say. Anna, be a dear and pour our dear friend, Senor Bunniford, a glass of that excellent sherry."

Slightly confused, Tobias sat warily while Anna stood. The belt holding the robe closed came undone and she made no move to retie it. She walked over to the room's wet bar and he watched her pour three glasses, placing them on a tray.

Anna walked over to Tobias and held the tray in front of him. His eyes tracked the gentle sway of her breasts and he blindly groped for a glass. She smirked at him, then walked over to Carlos and offered him a glass. Carlos took the glass and she returned to her seat at the table.

Tobias took a gulp of the drink to fortify himself, then he turned to Carlos. "Senor Carlos, I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you've done for us, but I think it's time for us to back off and take a look at what we hope to achieve here," he said.

Carlos sipped his drink and motioned for Tobias to continue. Across from him at the table, Anna chuckled and Tobias threw her a questioning glance. She was a whore, good only for sex, in his opinion. He was shocked to see her here and even more shocked to see Carlos allowing her to participate in this meeting.

"Things are happening... things which... big things... things are happening." Tobias stammered, then he frowned. He suddenly looked at his glass with utter horror as he realized he had been poisoned. Carlos and Anna watched him carefully, less than a minute later his face had gone totally slack.

Carlos glanced over to Anna. "My dear, it seems that I owe you an apology. I admit I didn't have much faith when you suggested a special potion. You are certain it's permanent?"

Anna nodded. "It's even worse than an obliviate. His mind is wiped clean. I suppose if you had the patience you could train him up to be a person again, but right now he has a mind equal to a newborn babe and nothing can be done to fix it."

Carlos nodded. "It is a most excellent potion," he said, still looking at Bunniford, who sat, blinking slowly and barely moving. "It is a pity. He managed to attract some very useful people, but he himself lacked the motivation need to be a proper revolutionary."

Carlos smiled thinly. "I'm afraid, my dear, you lost one of your regular customers."

Anna shrugged. "He wasn't a bad customer, but it wasn't like I had to rely his trade alone. Besides, I've been considering a change. I can't expect to be doing this all my life."

Carlos arched one eyebrow. "Oh? And what profession would you choose to pursue?"

Anna placed her glass down on the table and walked over to Carlos. She knelt in front of him. "It strikes me that a sufficiently powerful wizard could really shake up Britain, and such a powerful wizard would need someone to help him deal with the stress in his life," she said in a sultry tone. "I would think this little demonstration has shown that I have more talents than just warming your bed?"

Carlos reached out and ran a hand gently down her cheek. She leaned into his touch and he slid it down until it was under her chin, then he swiftly grasped her by her neck. Her eyes bulged in her head and she stared at him in surprise and fear.

"You are a dangerous woman, Anna, so much like a black widow. You entice your victims in and captivate them with the pleasures you can give them. But I am more dangerous. The first time you forget that fact will be your last. I will use your talents and your body as I see fit. If you continue to be useful, I will see you well compensated for your efforts."

He released her and she felt backwards and took a huge heaving breath. "Do you understand me, my dear?" Carlos said mildly.

Anna nodded, clearly frightened by the man. She had hoped to establish some measure of control over him and he had brushed her attempt aside with a callous contempt. It was a first for her to find a man she couldn't dominate and it made her fearful.

"Excellent. Now, get dressed and floo room three oh nine and tell Alberto I need him to come up here to dispose of Bunniford. After that, you and I will talk about how we'll grab complete control over his little band of revolutionaries."

She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to where her clothing lay and started to dress.

"Anna?"

"Yes?"

"Do not bother fully dressing," he commanded.

She smiled slightly and nodded, then picked up her robe. Her under garments would get shoved in a drawer for now.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, March 16th...**

Harry sat down at the table and looked at the two girls who were sitting across from him. He had returned from Disko and seeing the Weyrlings off on their Weyr tour. It had been a tiring affair, helping so many riders make their first long distance jump from Disko Island to Campbeltown. Harry was glad to be home and looking forward to a relaxing meal.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. Hermione had shown up a half hour after he arrived and since then a heavy blanket of tense silence had descended in the house. Harry stabbed a chicken breast from the platter and then offered it to May. "Chicken?" he said.

The fried chicken was a recipe that Harry had stumbled upon when he went to Condron. He had Dobby bring the recipe back to their cooking elves and they made it at least once a week for Harry.

May shook her head and Harry sighed, then he put the platter down. "This isn't going to work," he said flatly. Both girls looked up at him in surprise. He looked at the pair of them and shook his head. "I made it plain that this house was the one place I go to relax, and yet right now the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. If this is what we have to look forward to, then I'm afraid I'm going to have disappoint Chekiath."

He stood with the intent to leave them so that they could work this out, but May reached out and grabbed him his hand. "No, Harry. Wait," she pleaded.

He turned and looked at her. He could feel Chekiath watching anxiously from his sand bed. His dragon knew that Harry would go very far to make him happy, but Cheki wouldn't allow Harry to enter into a situation that made him unhappy. There were other females he could choose from.

"I'm sorry," May said. "I guess it's one thing to talk about it between two of us. But when faced with the reality?" She shrugged.

"It becomes a lot harder," Hermione muttered, finishing for May. The two girls glanced at each other and tried to hide the glare they exchanged.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe you two should go talk this out among yourselves? Or maybe we should just forget this altogether."

May glanced at him sharply. "Harry, you're involved in this also, you know. If there's any talking to be had, it should be between the three of us."

He reluctantly nodded and sat back down in his chair. "Well, then let me start out by saying that what I feel for you, I also feel for Hermione. Part of why I want both of you comes from Cheki, but only a part. Cheki is probably why I'm even willing to consider this. Were it not for him, I'd run for the hills before getting involved with two women at the same time."

Both girls laughed a bit at his comment.

"I care deeply for both of you and wouldn't want to hurt either of you. But this isn't the way I expected things to be when you first brought this up."

He paused and played briefly with a butter knife before looking at them again. "Chekiath is the largest dragon in the world and we aren't stupid and neither are you girls. We all know if he wanted to, he could cover virtually every female in the Weyr. And I could probably have more than a few of them myself. Susan made it patently clear that while she wasn't looking for a relationship, she wouldn't mind doing it again."

"_It did cross my mind, but I didn't want to cause problems for you,"_ Chekiath said suddenly.

Harry grinned slightly. "Thanks for that, mate."

His expression sobered again. "I don't think I have it in me to have sex just for the sake of having sex. Susan Bones caught me while I was still in the first mating frenzy. Had she come another night I would have sent her packing. She's a lovely girl and very attractive, but other than friendship and respect, I don't really feel anything for her."

Both girls stared at him in shock. They'd never heard him speak so openly or candidly before.

"Do you have a point to this, Harry?" Hermione asked a bit fearfully.

He nodded. "I do and it's a very simple one. Of all the girls in the Weyr, I only have feelings for you two. It's why I'm even considering this. But it can't happen like this. You two have to at least be friends for this to work. May and I have already talked about having a family someday. To my mind. that says a permanent relationship. But what does that make us? One husband and two wives? Shagging buddies? Because shagging buddies isn't going to cut it. And you two barely tolerating each other will fail from the get go."

He glanced over to his dragon before looking back at both girls. "If we can't be together without it feeling like we're one step shy of outright war, then we can't be together. And to be brutally honest with you both, I do not need this distraction."

May looked down at the table, suddenly ashamed with herself. "I'm sorry Hermione," she suddenly blurted. "I know we talked about this. When you showed up tonight it suddenly became real and I was frightened."

"Of what?" Harry asked.

"That sooner or later you'd discover you love her more than me," Hermione answered for her.

May looked up at Hermione, surprised, then nodded quickly. "Exactly!"

Harry sighed. "I can't speak for the future. My best friend used to claim divination was a wooly subject and it's something I agree with. I can only say that I will try as hard as I can to be the best I can, for both of you. I am willing to do this because it will make both of you – not to mention our dragons - happy. But as near as I can see, the problem lies with you two."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?" She didn't like being told that she was part of the problem and had she just looked, she would have seen a similar expression on May's face.

Harry reached out and snagged Hermione's hand in his, then he reached for May as well. "When it's just two of us, there's no problem. May and I spend this time enjoying being with each other. We do our homework, or sometimes watch the telly, or just talk and yes, sometimes we even snog on the couch before going to bed. Most of the things you and I used to do, Hermione. Our evenings were fun and relaxing.

"I refuse to regiment my life so that every even day is a Hermione day and every odd day is a May day just to get a bit of peace. It will be either every day is a day with my family, which includes two wonderful young women, or I'll do something I hoped I'd never do, disappoint my dragon," he said.

"_You'd never disappoint me, Harry,"_ Chekiath said fiercly from his bed.

Harry glanced at his dragon and smiled. "I hope that's always true, Cheki," he said, then he turned back to the girls. "Tonight was terrible. It seemed like you were each ready to attack the other. I asked you to join us, Hermione, so that you could learn about May and she could learn about you." He released their hands and rubbed at his temples for a moment. "I love you both, but I think the only way this can work is if you can say the same thing."

"Harry," May protested.

"No, I'm not saying you have to be intimate. Sisters love each other and don't have sex with each other," Harry said quickly, overriding her protest. "What will you do when we have children? Separate them out by mother?

"I see what he's saying, May," Hermione offered. "It has to be more than superficial. We can't just put up with each other for his sake. It will make us all miserable."

May nodded. "I do too. I need to stop thinking of you as the competition."

"_There is no competition," _Chekiath announced suddenly. _"There never was any contest except for the one you made up in your minds. Each of you seem to see only the flaws in yourselves and you try to compare your flawed image against the other. You look at each other and feel that Harry should pick the other over you."_

Both girls turned to stare at the large dragon, who rumbled with amusement. _"It's not just you two, you know. Harry thinks he isn't worthy of either of you, but when he looks at you, he doesn't see any flaws. I know what he sees, and all he sees is your beauty. He looks at you and sees a person he wants to be close to."_

"Cheki," Harry said in a strangled tone. He blushed and looked down at the table. All three were now blushing at the dragon's comments. Both girls knew Chekiath was right. They were hypercritical of their own flaws and both were certain Harry would find the other more attractive.

Cheki turned to regard his rider. _"It's true, my rider. You look at both riders and admire their form and their minds as much as I admire their dragons. You think they are the most desirable riders in the Weyr and you think you are not worthy of such. I have tried to tell you and I'll keep on telling you, you are __the Weyrleader, you could have any female you want,"_ Cheki said fiercely.

Both girls looked at each other unhappily. Harry might be largely clueless about girls in general, but his dragon wasn't. He could easily have any number of unattached girls from the riders. Most of them knew Harry was taken and reluctantly settled for his friendship.

"_Can I make a suggestion?"_ offered Cheki.

Harry lifted his head and eyed his dragon warily. It wouldn't be out of character for his dragon to suggest they all sit around naked just to break the ice between them.

"_Comaloth and Trath are happy for each other. They know I want them as consorts and approve of the idea. Neither is upset about the other. They both know that they will have something that the other females want very much and can't have. They know that I will not breed with any other and are happy with that. Can't you do the same? A dragon wouldn't feel the way you do."_

"But we're not dragons," May pointed out.

"You? I feel like I'm a side of beef being offered for sale," Harry muttered, still blushing heavily.

"You're not a piece of meat Harry," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "But from the dragon perspective, you are the rider of the most desirable male dragon in the world. The dragons don't understand human mating customs, so in their eyes, you having two wives seems natural to them. They don't understand why it bothers us. Like May points out, we're not dragons."

"_No, you're riders and your dragons want you to be friends with each other. Your dragons want you to be happy, and I want Harry to be happy. The only way that can happen is if you consider just how lucky you are. Harry has already pointed out there are other females. The two of you are the only ones fighting against a chance to be happy."_

May huffed and crossed her arms, then she leaned back in her chair and turned to Hermione. "I do believe we've just been told off by a dragon. And Cheki isn't the only one. Trath is itching to tell me off too. I can feel her poking around the back of my mind, waiting to pounce."

Hermione nodded slowly. She could feel that her dragon wanted to speak also. "I think we're forgetting something here," she offered hesitantly.

Harry looked at her. "Oh? What's that?"

"That our dragons wouldn't ask us to do something that would make us unhappy. They know us better than we know ourselves, I think. Comaloth wouldn't ask me to do this if she thought I would be miserable."

May's expression changed and her eyes widened. "So if our dragons know we can do this and be happy, what are we missing then? Why the jealousy?"

To the surprise of both girls, it was Harry that spoke. "Cultural taboos," he murmured. Both girls gaped at him and he shrugged. "Diplomatically speaking, understanding a cultural taboo can make or break the diplomatic process. Western society frowns on multiple marriages, but other cultures consider it the norm. That means it's a cultural thing rather than a real limitation. Genetically, the only pitfall would be making sure our children found mates outside of the family group."

"So, what's the answer then?" May asked.

Harry shrugged again. "If you two can get along with each other, I'm all for it. I love you May, and I have always loved Hermione. I may be greedy, but who wouldn't want the two prettiest riders in the Weyr?"

Both girls blushed deeply.

"All right, let's try this from the top, shall we?" Hermione said, then she scooted closer to the table with her chair and cast a warming charm on the now cold food. "Have either of you completed your history assignment on Prime Minister Chamberlain?" she asked, then she picked up the platter of chicken and offered it to May.

May chuckled and took the platter. "I would like to say I finished it days ago, but Harry finished it the day your mum assigned it."

When Hermione turned to him, surprised, he shrugged. "I tend to do my homework as soon as I get it these days. I can't complain to Emma that I couldn't do it because I spent the last three days researching China. She won't accept that excuse."

Hermione relaxed slightly and smiled. Being Weyrleader was forcing him to deal with things early instead of putting them off to the last minute. They discussed the assignment and other issues as the tension gradually relaxed. Before Hermione knew it, it was past eleven. Harry offered to let her stay the night in one of the spare bedrooms, but she declined. It was too soon and she and May still had issues to work out between them.

Harry surprised her when he stopped her at the door and he kissed her and held her tight for a moment before releasing her. It was his way of showing that, despite the rocky start, they had managed some progress tonight.

He shut the door behind Hermione, then he turned back to May.

"That went better than I thought it would," she offered.

He smiled at her. "It did, after we got over the initial bump. There are still a lot of hurdles, but I'm feeling more confident now."

"Are you?" she asked with a smile to match his.

He nodded. "I'm looking forward to seeing if she looks as good in one of my t-shirts as you do," he replied.

She paled for a moment, then shook her head ruefully. "I suppose I should learn to expect that," she said a bit unhappily. She stepped closer to him and he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer.

"If you mean that I'll be lusting after you as much as her? Yes, but the one thing I can promise you, May, is that when you have me, you'll have all of me. I won't be thinking about her when I'm with you, and I won't be thinking about you when I'm with her."

His fingers undid the buttons of her blouse and she moaned slightly when he pulled it back and kissed her bare shoulder. "She's not here now. You two made a rule, I'll add another. No talking behind the back of your sister wife," he whispered, his lips leaving a trail of fire across her skin.

She pulled him tightly to her and nodded her head against his shoulder. That was a rule she could live with. "I can do that. But two wives is your limit. Now take me to bed, Harry. Let me have all of you tonight," she whispered. He nodded and easily picked her up in his arms, then took her into the bedroom.

Chekiath watched the couple leave the room and his eyes drooped noticeably. Chekiath, Trath and Comaloth had payed very close attention to the conversation and all three dragons knew how close things had come to falling apart. Some riders were easy to influence via the bond, but these three were exceptionally strong willed and not easily influenced. For now, the three dragons were content. Their riders were one step closer to being mated like they wanted them to be.

A soft pop woke Cheki enough to open one eye. He saw Dobby clearing away the dinner dishes and banishing the clothing to the clothes hamper. Dobby saw Cheki watching him and he smiled, then he snapped his fingers twice. Instantly Chekiath found his back being scratched like someone was rubbing millions of stiff bristles over it. He whuffled in pleasure and stretched a little. _"Thank you, Dobby,"_ Cheki said.

Dobby waved. "Good night, Cheki dragon," he said, then he vanished with a pop.

**Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, March 17th...**

Tom looked up when the door opened and he smiled at the middle aged gentleman that entered. The man carried a small overnight bag, but that meant little to a wizard. For all he knew the man could have had enough clothing in that small bag to outfit an army.

"Good morning, sir. How may I help you?" Tom said.

"Good morning," replied the stranger in a thick German accent. "I am here on business and expect to be around for a few weeks. You have rooms, yes?"

Tom smiled broadly. "Yes, sir, I do indeed."

"Gut, I take room with bath then, for two weeks, ja?"

Tom smiled, "A room with full bath? That'll be twenty galleons per week. You can either give me a deposit of fifteen galleons now the rest payable on checkout, or pay in full."

Tom pulled out his registry and opened it, then offered the man a quill. "Room 2A, sir. There's a free breakfast delivered by elf every morning at eight. Lunch and dinner can be had either here, in the alley proper, or an elf can deliver it to your room."

"I pay full now, but if I need to stay longer, I will tell you," the man said, then he counted out four ten galleon coins and handed them to Tom.

He leaned down and signed the registry using his latest alias, Werner Migartt.

Tom glanced at the registry and smiled broadly. "Welcome, Mr. Migartt. I hope you'll enjoy your stay. If you'll give me a moment, I'll show you your room."

Tom glanced around til he located his assistant. "Oi! Nob, you old fool, come watch the bar while I take our guest up to his room!"

Migartt smiled thinly and followed Tom up to one of his best rooms. Once Tom left, he dug into his overnight bag and removed a small pistol and checked it carefully. It should be an easy job. All he had to do was wait here and watch the alley for now.

The pistol was his backup weapon in case his wand was damaged. He also found it useful in startling a competent target. It was one of the reasons why he was so successful. The noise of the pistol had a tendency to surprise wizards and few knew any shield spells capable of stopping a bullet.

Placing the pistol into a shoulder holster, he buttoned up his robe and left the room. He needed to learn the layout of the alley and scout out possible positions he could use to make his hit. He had been told that his target showed up in the alley at least twice a month, so all he had to do was wait.

His instructions were surprisingly precise and included special contingency instructions which he hadn't seen since he had hired out to end an old blood feud on the continent. It made him curious, but not curious enough ask questions.

**Campbeltown Weyr, March 29th...**

"Harry!"

He stopped on the steps to the kitchen hall and turned around. Seeing Lee running up to him, he smiled.

"Harry, I'm about to head into Ollivanders. Do you want to tag along?" Lee asked.

Lee made weekly scale deliveries and Harry joined him at least twice month. While Lee dealt with Ollivander's nephew, he poked around Diagon Alley, picking up books and odds and ends that he thought would be useful at the Weyr.

"Not this time, Lee," he replied. "We're still good on ice cream since Dan made that comment to Emma about her waistline."

Lee laughed. Dan was still in the doghouse over that comment. He had been sitting with Emma a week ago when he noted that maybe he should join Harry on his morning jog around the Weyr. He poked at his middle and said a little exercise wouldn't kill him, then he nudged Emma and said she should join him since she was showing signs of too much Chocolate Demise.

The kitchen hall fell silent and every male in the building winced as they watched one of their own commit spousal suicide. Emma turned and gave Dan a withering look, then stood and went to sit with her daughter. Dan would have followed, but he realized that every female in the room was glaring at him.

On the other hand, Emma did cut back on her forays into Fortescue's ice cream.

"All right then, Harry, I'll see you when I get back."

Harry nodded and turned to enter the hall. He grinned when he spotted Hermione and May deep in an animated conversation. The pair had been working very hard to find common ground. Ever since that first night, they'd managed to be very cordial to each other. Both girls had pointed out to Harry that he couldn't exactly order them to be friends, or even as close as sisters. He agreed with that statement and they were working on building that friendship. May and Hermione had even gone into town one day on a shopping trip.

He didn't know what they had bought, but he suspected it wasn't something he wanted to know since the pair of them blushed and laughed every time they mentioned it. On a more personal front, Hermione had only come to dinner twice since that first awkward night. It was obvious that they were concentrating on their relationship before really trying to involve Harry again.

He sat down next to the two girls and nodded in greeting to the pair.

"Where have you been hiding?" asked May.

"I was with Remus going over what Spath and the others could tell us about fishing methods the Pern Weyr's employed. I just don't think we're going to be able to repeat it. The fish on Pern, or what passed for fish, were much larger and we're getting the impression that the seas were warmer than what we've got locally," he said. "Generally, they threw some kind of harpoon and then let the dragon hold the line to avoid being pulled free. There was another technique using a net, but apparently Sidraneth and her ancestors never saw it in action, so we have no idea how it worked."

"Hagrid fishes from the back of Selanth. Maybe he has some ideas?" Hermione offered.

May frowned. "Hermione, Hagrid is a lot stronger than a regular rider. Any technique he uses is liable to be unusable by the rest of us."

Harry nodded and swallowed a bite of his sandwich. "I think we're just going to have to bite the bullet and make arrangements with one of the local fishing fleets to supply us the dragons a couple times a month."

"What brought this about? I thought the dragons were happy with the food herd," asked Hermione.

Harry shrugged. "Sir Robert suggested that it would be healthier for the dragons if we varied their diet some. Think about it. Would you like to eat the same thing all the time? The dragons are meat eaters, so it's not like we can give them potatoes and carrots with their meals."

"Not unless the sheep has been eating them first," Hermione muttered.

Harry blinked and started to laugh and she smiled ruefully.

"I was going to take Wing One out to try out some fishing ideas, but Arnas told us there's a bad storm in the North Sea and it's even kicking up conditions in the Irish Sea. I'm not about to risk a rider going into the cold water just to try out a few ideas based on a badly remembered memory."

The Bulstrode effect meant that the dragons wouldn't be bothered by high winds, nor would their riders, but the weather and sea spray would make it a miserable experience for any rider.

"Makes sense," May said, then she sipped from her tea. She was relieved to know that they wouldn't be going anywhere today. She was a member of Wing One and had no pressing duties at the moment, so Harry would have probably insisted she come along. She glanced out the window and shivered at the gray overcast skies. It wasn't raining yet, but she was sure it would start sooner or later.

Harry cupped his mug between both hands and leaned closer to the two girls. "I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you've been doing. I haven't wanted to put pressure on either of you, but from where I sit, I can see that you've been both working hard to be friends."

Both girls flushed slightly.

"It wasn't easy at first," May admitted. "But it turns out we have a lot more in common than just you."

Hermione smiled shyly and reached out to touch his hand. "Although I think May would agree, you are the most important thing we have in common."

May nodded. She knew exactly how important Harry was to her personally. "We both hate shopping, for the most part," May offered, "but some parts are fun."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She saw James Mills looking around a bit desperately. "I think James might be looking for you, Harry," she said.

Harry looked up and caught Jame's glance. "Excuse me a moment," he said, then stood and walked over to James.

"That doesn't look good," May said, watching the pair. Harry expression was souring quickly. Finally he held up a hand to stop James from speaking, he said something in return, and James nodded, then he turned and hurriedly left the kitchen hall.

Harry pulled his wand and twirled it. An alarm started to shriek across the Weyr and all of the riders stilled as they clearly heard Harry call in the riders and dragons for an all hands meeting in front of hangar two.

Harry put his wand away and immediately left the hall. Behind him, the riders who'd been having a relaxing lunch erupted from their chairs. The last time someone set off the alarm, they'd learned about the spies watching the Weyr.

Harry stood in front of hangar two, his eyes glazed over. Everyone recognized the signs of his speaking to dragons far away. He stood motionless for several minutes, then James ran up to him with a book under one arm and a map. Harry turned and looked at the book for a moment before nodding, then he examined the map, frowning.

The riders watched in silence as Harry spoke again to some distant dragon, then his eyes returned to normal and he looked around at his riders. They had been joined by Sirius, Remus and Doctor Sheppard.

"We have a urgent request straight from the Prime Minister's office. Right now, the Shetland Island Weyr is sending out every dragon they have. A little over two hours ago, the HMS Orkney, a Royal Navy Fisheries Protection boat, was damaged in the North Sea. She's adrift and unable to steer or run her engines. Thanks to the weather, the Navy and the Coast Guard are unable to get any helicopters out to her.

"There are thirty five men aboard the Orkney and she's in danger of sinking. Shetland Island Weyr is trying to find her. If they can, they'll relay the jump image to me. I don't know if we'll be plucking people out of the water, or trying to grab the ship."

"What?" exclaimed Remus.

Harry sighed. "You know the dragons can lift heavy objects. If we get enough dragons to latch onto it we might be able to save the crew and the ship," Harry explained.

"It could work," Ronan said aloud. "It only took two dragons to lift that cargo container Sir Robert used for his tests. That had to weigh ten tons at least."

Harry nodded, then he turned to the others. "Suit up. We're on standby until we hear from Mizloth of Shetland Weyr. Make sure you wear your warmest clothing."

He walked over to where the adults stood, while the riders scattered back to their quarters. "Issac, you may be very busy shortly," Harry said softly.

Sheppard nodded. "I'll break out what supplies I have on hand, but I'm not capable of handling thirty five hypothermia victims, Harry."

James, who had been standing nearby, looked over. "I'll call the PM's office. The weather here is still good enough that we should be able to fly in some medical help from the army."

Harry nodded and joined the others in the large central meeting room of hangar two to wait. While they waited, he studied the book James had give him. It contained a photo of the ship similar to the one in trouble. She was a big ship to Harry, fifty nine meters in length and eleven meters wide. He knew there were bigger ships, but he had never seen any up close before. One thing was certain, however. With all the protrusions there would be plenty of places for a dragon to clamp onto and her size would mean they could easily get forty or more dragons to lift her if she was still afloat when they got there.

He passed several images of the ship to Milzoth for him to share with his dragons, then he walked over to a large map on the wall and stared at it for a while.

"Harry? Something wrong?" asked Ronan.

He nodded. "We need jump imagery. The navy can give us coordinates for the ship that would put us on top of it. There must be some way we could use that."

"Maybe, but I don't see how. At least not now," Ronan replied dubiously.

Harry grunted sourly and continued to stare at the map while wracking his brain. He knew that Milzoth and his dragons would do their best, but people's lives were on the line. Frustrated, he began to pace in front of the map as he considered possibilities and quickly discarded them. Knowing what the ship looked like from a photo wasn't the same as knowing what it looked like from the air. And even if he knew that, any imagery that didn't include the current storm was likely to take a dragon to some place in the past.

"Relax, Harry," Remus said softly from nearby.

He got a sour glare for his effort.

Time slowly passed while he paced. He listened in on the chatter between the dragons out on search and resisted the impulse to throw more dragons into the search. The Shetland Island Weyr were familiar with the region, his dragons were not. Adding Campbeltown dragons to the search would require the Shetland dragons to assist them, slowing the search even more.

Nearly an hour had passed when Harry jerked to a halt. _"Weyrleader?"_

"_Milzoth? Have you found them?"_

"_Most of the humans have left the boat, Weyrleader. They are floating in smaller boat things like the tents you used when you visited us. The bigger boat is slipping below the waves, but I have a wing pulling it out of the water now."_

Harry received an impression of rough seas and little tented life rafts floating about a mile from where Milzoth was. He also saw the dragons of Shetland Island Weyr perched all over the Orkney, every dragon had their wings extended and the ship was slowly lifting out of the ocean.

Harry shook free from the images and raced from the room. The riders watched him leave, then bolted after him. Outside hangar two, the dragons were waiting for their riders. Harry scrambled up on Chekiath's back, then gave his dragon the image of the life rafts.

"Mount up, riders!" he roared from Chekiath's shoulders, then he clipped his suit into the flying harness. Conditions at the site were just too unpredictable to go without it.

A quick glance towards the hospital showed two army helicopters nearby, presumably parked there after bringing in more medical personnel to help Doctor Sheppard. Another helicopter was just coming over the fence line. Lord Mills had delivered on his promise.

"_Milzoth, when your wing has the boat out of the water, take it someplace where it'll be safe for now. I'm bringing up my Weyr to rescue the sailors,"_ Harry sent.

"_Yes, Weyrleader,"_ replied the senior dragon. In his haste, Harry's poorly worded instructions would turn out to have far reaching implications for the Weyr.

Harry passed the jump imagery to Chekiath, then he called to all of the dragons. _"Dragons, the Orkney crew are in life rafts. We're going to grab the rafts and take them directly to our hospital. Wing pairs, one dragon grab the raft, your wing rider shall remain behind to insure no one fell out of the raft. __Dragons, remember to lift gently and watch your claws."_

"_The Weyr knows where to go, Harry," _Chekiath announced after passing the jump image to the dragons.

"Good," he replied, "let's get going then." Harry pumped his fist twice and four wings of dragons lifted off and vanished from sight.

"We best get over to the hospital," James said softly. He stood with Remus and Sirius. Sirius waved and Katherine pulled up with her Land Rover and they piled in.

**The North Sea, roughly 90 miles south east of Shetland Island, March 29th...**

The Weyr came out of between and almost instantly were soaked to the bone by the salt spray. The winds weren't felt by the riders, but the cold salt water spraying up from the turbulent seas was an issue. _"Cheki, remind all of the dragons that their rider's harnesses will be wet when they leave. No sudden flight changes or we might discover a harness breaking,"_ he sent.

"_Garanoth just told me the same thing, Harry. I see the orange boats. They are very tiny. Are there really people inside?"_

Harry wiped the water from his face. "I hope so, mate. Let's find out."

"_Smaller dragons go for the rafts. Horntails and Ironbellies, remain above the waves unless you spot someone in the water. Wing pairs, if your mate has returned to the Weyr, make one low level pass checking for someone in the water, then return to the Weyr,"_ he sent. The waves weren't huge, but he didn't want the larger dragons clipping a wing and crashing into the cold sea.

There were fifteen rafts in the water, each one bobbing crazily in the rough seas. All of them had a little strobe light blinking steadily from the peak of the little tent. Harry figured the sailors were probably all soaked and in serious trouble from the cold by now.

Kirteth and Rasiloth, a pair of vipertooth dragons swooped down to a raft and Kirteth gently gripped it in his paws. Kirteth lifted up again and had just cleared the water when they made the jump between. Rasiloth pulled up and around and made a second pass over the spot then jumped back to the Weyr. Kirteth had managed to lift the raft without spilling any passengers out.

Pandorth and Moysth next flew in low over the spots where more rafts were bobbing in the swell. Pandoth grabbed the raft and then pulled up and made their jump back to the Weyr. Moysth repeated Rasiloth's maneuver and again came up empty before returning to Campbeltown.

Another pair of dragons descended and one lifted off, clutching a life raft. Harry gasped when the partner dove down to the water and plucked a person from the surface. Some sailors had tumbled out of the raft as his partner had lifted it from the sea. With the tent like covering the dragons had no way of knowing that particular raft was overcrowded. The dragon bugled in alarm and instantly a message was passed that there was two other people still in the water.

"_Hang on, Harry,"_ Chekiath called.

Chekiath banked hard and dove for the spot. Harry signaled to Ronan to follow and then Chekiath was skimming just above the rough surface. Harry gasped when a wave crested and for a brief moment they plowed through the water, then they were up and climbing again. He was soaked up to his chest, and he could see Chekiath held someone in his paws. The sailor was still moving, but seemed to be in bad shape so Harry ordered Chekiath to jump Between.

The large dragon vanished from view just as Garanoth plucked another sailor from the water. Garanoth pulled up and vanished as another wing pair made their dive on a bobbing raft.

**The Hospital, Campbeltown Weyr...**

Chekiath emerged from Between much lower than usual, barely fifty feet over the pavement surrounding the hospital building. Below, a pair of uniformed men he didn't recognize beckoned the huge dragon to land. Nearby a stretcher waited on the ground for the occupant that Harry and Chekiath carried. The large dragon lightly touched down and the two men rushed forward with the stretcher to take the sailor from the dragon. Harry absently noted these men were from the same unit that they had transported to Gringault, the Goblin capital.

Ronan, on Garanoth, appeared not far away, a sailor in Garanoth's front paws. From where Harry was, he could see Ronan was only slightly less frozen than he. Another pair of medics beckoned Garanoth to land.

Harry's teeth chattered suddenly and a heavy shiver wracked his body, calling attention to the fact that his clothing was literally frozen solid.

Chekiath bellowed and turned his head to look at Harry. He was stuck, his arms frozen in place holding the riding straps.

"_You need help!"_ exclaimed Chekiath and he bellowed again, broadcasting his alarm.

"Harry!" shouted Remus. He ran up to Chekiath and skidded to a halt. Harry shivered again.

"I'm stuck," he gasped.

Remus pulled his wand and quickly cast a strong warming charm. It took several minutes before Harry could slide down from Chekiath. He stood off to one side, still shivering, now he was just wet instead of frozen. Remus on the other hand hadn't waited. Once he realized what was happening he went around casting strong warming charms on all of the riders, Harry followed behind him casting a drying charm, but all of the riders were chilled to the bone.

Harry watched as the riders deposited the life rafts, or individual dragons landed with a person in their front paws. All around them, soldiers dashed about, getting people under blankets and moving them into the hospital where no doubt there were plenty of people treating the sailors.

Within three minutes, all of the Weyr riders were present. The dragons that hadn't found someone to pick up made several sweeps of the area but they hadn't found anyone else. For their efforts they had recovered fifteen inflatable rafts and six people had been plucked from the sea.

Harry accepted a mug of some hot drink from Dobby, then he turned to look at his riders who were all milling around, unsure what to do now. Most were like him, soaked to the bone. "Riders, all plans for this afternoon are canceled. Go to your quarters and get warm. Remember to inspect your riding harness before your next flight," he called, then he turned and trudged towards his own quarters. He had plans for taking advantage of his large bathtub that involved a lot of hot water.

Ten minutes later, Harry sighed in pleasure as he slid into his tub. The bathroom was large in comparison to what most others had. It took Lord Mills to explain that Harry had been put up in the old base commander's quarters, which explained the extra bedrooms and other amenities. The tub, however, had been charmed larger, as had the water heater. The spell work had been done by Sirius, who claimed that a hot bath in a tub big enough to swim in was life's second greatest pleasure and one of the things he missed the most while in prison.

When pressed, Sirius later admitted that life's greatest pleasure was having a willing woman joining you in that bath. Thanks to magic, Sirius' bathtub was more like a small swimming pool. Katherine called it sinfully wonderful.

Harry slid down into the hot water and relaxed. The room slowly filled with steam and he dozed lightly. It was nearly an hour later when he was jerked awake by Chekiath announcing he had a visitor.

Sighing, he climbed from the bath and cast a drying charm on himself, then put on his boxers and a robe. He stepped from the bath and walked down the short corridor to the living room, fully expecting May to be there. He was surprised to see it wasn't May, but Hermione.

"Hermione? Is there a problem?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, no problem. I was speaking to May. She's not feeling well, but she told me that I need to spend more time with you. May and I have been so busy working through our end of this that you've been a left dangling, which isn't right either."

"May's sick? She should have said something. I would have told her to remain behind."

Hermione smiled and sat on the couch, then she patted the spot next to her and he went to sit next to her. "She's not sick that way, but are you sure you want to know?"

Harry frowned. He wanted to know if any of his riders were sick. That he cared deeply for May wasn't relevant. "Of course, I want to know. I'd want to know if you or any of the other riders wasn't feeling well."

Hermione shook her head. He'd have to learn the hard way. "Harry, she started her period today. Even with the help we witches can provide our sister riders, she still wasn't feeling her best. She would have gone on today's mission because it's just a period, she wasn't sick, but now that she's home, she wanted to curl up under a warm blanket with a good book. She knew she could have come to you and you would have helped her like the last time, but she wanted me to spend some time with you, so she told me to come here."

Harry grimaced and nodded uncomfortably. The last time this had happened he had helped as much as he could. He felt bad that he hadn't helped her enough, but she was rather happy with his efforts.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you do? May seemed very pleased with you about it. I think she wanted to come over, but she also wanted me to spend some time with you," Hermione asked.

Harry looked uncomfortable. "She came over and told me she was on her period and not really feeling well, so I suggested a quiet night and when she crawled into bed I think the charm was starting to wear off. I spelled a pillow with a heating charm and held it over her belly. We talked, mostly about her growing up on Arran and eventually she relaxed enough to asleep. It wasn't much. The next morning I made a note in my book to learn the charm you girls know, but Luna told me it was a bad idea. She said that since I couldn't easily test it I might end up casting it too strong."

Hermione nodded in agreement. Luna had been right, but it surprised her that he would go to such lengths.

When she didn't comment, Harry looked at her sheepishly and felt the need to explain further. "Sirius took me aside when the rumors started about you, me and May. He said that if I was going to have two girls I better learn to understand them quickly or they'd gang up on me."

Hermione stared at him for a moment with her brow furrowing. Harry cringed, knowing that look. It was usually followed by her exploding, so when she laughed softly, he was shocked.

"I guess I can see why you would feel outnumbered like that. And I am pleased to discover that you took it upon yourself to learn more about what we women go through. Menstruation is not something most boys want to learn about."

Harry leaned forward and pressed his hands against his temples. "Hermione," he said with a bit of a whine, "just because I _learned_ about it, doesn't mean I want to _talk_ about it."

She laughed again and leaned back against the couch. "All right, then we'll talk about something else." She pulled up her legs under herself and turned to face him on the couch. Suddenly, she smiled and shook with silent laughter.

"What?"

"I was just thinking about a certain little miss know-it-all on the train looking for a toad, who met a reluctant hero. How far we've come from that point. I never would have believed it if someone had told me," she said.

"I would have called you daft if you had told me I'd end up with a huge dragon running around inside my head, egging me on to building a harem," he muttered, then he looked at her worriedly. "Honestly, Hermione, how am I supposed to do this? I want you as much as I want May, but I'm terrified of doing the wrong thing and hurting either of you."

Her expression sobered. "I don't know. A part of me is so angry with myself for letting this happen. Had I just gone to you back in December, or had I just talked to you, this wouldn't have happened."

"_You're wrong, Hermione,"_ Chekiath said from his sand bed. The huge dragon lifted his head and turned to look at the pair on the couch. His bed was situated in such a way that he could watch the television Harry had, or he could easily look at the people sitting on the couch and have a conversation with them.

She looked surprised and turned to face the dragon. "What do you mean?"

"_Strong males always had a number of consorts. Before Harry, a Horntail male would have have three or four consorts in his life. The strongest male could have had a dozen. When I impressed with Harry, we both changed. I had to be the biggest because of who my rider is. If I wanted, I could have had a dozen consorts. But Harry wasn't like that. Mating for you humans is complicated by your emotions. For my rider, I limit myself. During my life I may cover many different females, but only two will have my offspring and only two will I call my own. My rider had feelings for only two riders, I am just lucky that he picked two of the best riders who had the best female dragons. I am content,"_ Chekiath explained.

She stared at the dragon for a moment, then she shook her head and chuckled slightly. "So, in other words, it was inevitable and it could have been so much worse," she murmured, then she glanced over to Harry, who was watching her with a guarded expression. She reached out and caressed his cheek, cupping it in her hand. "And you're overwhelmed by all this still?"

He nodded, a bit intimidated by the mood of intimacy. "I don't know how to do this without hurting someone."

"And that's probably why this is going to work," she replied softly. "You'll work hard to make sure neither May or I feel like we're being left out. You haven't got it inside you to treat either of us otherwise. Someday very soon I'll come to you and ask you to make love to me and I know that I won't have time to wonder if you do this better with May or not because I know you will be the best you can for me."

She paused and took a deep breath. "May pointed out that Cheki could have wanted more, and Cheki just confirmed it. Comaloth says I should be honored to share the Weyrleader. But I don't see it that way. Neither does May. We're sharing Harry Potter, my best friend, and someday soon more than that."

Harry blushed and looked down, embarrassed.

Hermione glanced at the wall clock and then she stood. She had said what she came here to say but now it was time to move on. "Why don't you get dressed and we'll go to the kitchen hall for dinner tonight?"

He nodded and stood, then he stopped and looked at her for a moment. Next thing she knew, she was wrapped in his arms in such away that she was reminded that he was nearly naked under his robe. He kissed her deeply and her arms wrapped around him, pulling him even tighter against her. Over her bond she could feel Comaloth thrumming with approval, then, to her surprise, she could feel Trath and Chekiath in her bond, also approving. It was a stunning moment and she reluctantly broke off the kiss despite part of her wanting to peel Harry out of his boxers with her teeth.

He held her still and smiled awkwardly. "Maybe this will work. All I do know is both you and May say it will and I'd be a fool to go against the advice of two very smart women," he said, then he kissed her forehead and released her. "Let me get dressed and we'll head over to the hall."

Hermione stood still, watching his retreating back. There were still hints of the old, unsure Harry about him, but the simple fact was that he was quickly vanishing, replaced by the confident man who had nearly left her a panting pile of goo. She glanced over at the dragon, who was watching her carefully. She shook her head, knowing a smug look when she saw one, even if it belonged to a dragon.

"Don't say it," she warned him. Over her bond, she could still feel the three dragons and their amusement. She made a note to talk to May about this before asking Harry.

Ten minutes later, they left Harry's quarters. As he closed the door, he stopped and turned at a noise. Two large helicopters lifted off from the vicinity of the hospital building and one orbiting helicopter moved in to land.

"I wonder what's happening?" Hermione said softly.

"Probably moving the sailors. Our hospital only has eight beds. And as good as Issac is, he can't be expected to treat all those patients himself," Harry said. "We'll probably find out more at the kitchen hall. As much as I'd like to go over and see, we'd only be in the way."

Hermione nodded and as they passed the main administration building, Remus joined them. "You're looking thawed out," he quipped.

Harry smiled. "I am, thanks to you. I'm glad you came along. I was worried Cheki might try flaming me to thaw me out," Harry replied.

"_I would never do that,"_ Chekiath announced, _"but a fart might have cracked the ice off you."_

Harry winced. "I know, Cheki, and I'm glad you didn't try that either." All of the riders had discovered the terror of dragon farts. The smell alone was enough to wake the dead. And like people, they came in different volumes, from the 'sneak attack', to the 'I'm sitting at ground zero of a nuclear explosion' that was guaranteed to wake you from a sound sleep by bouncing you out of the bed. Even Harry agreed, it might be possible for one of those farts to crack the ice that had him frozen to his spot.

Harry glanced sourly at Hermione, who was tittering at him. "You laugh, but somehow we need to move three dragons into one house and imagine what it'll be like if more than one farts at a time."

Hermione stared at him in mock horror. Comaloth adopted a lot of Hermione's mannerisms, but suppressing her farts wasn't one of them.

Harry turned to Remus, "Any word from Issac?"

Remus nodded a bit unhappily. "The Weyr brought in twenty nine people. Two died of exposure at the hospital. They were just too far gone."

"Damn," Harry said softly.

"How many were on that ship, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Thirty five. She had a crew of thirty five. Somehow we left six people behind."

Remus stopped him and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "No, you saved twenty seven people who would have died without your help. Six people, for whatever reason, didn't get into the life rafts. Maybe they stayed on board the ship. Maybe their life raft sank before you arrived. You don't know anything except that you and your riders saved twenty seven people."

"As much as you might want it, you can't save everyone," Hermione offered.

Lord Mills stepped out of the kitchen hall and smiled broadly when he spotted Harry. He walked over to him briskly. "Harry, the PM's office is astounded by the number of people saved. They knew the odds were against saving any of them using helicopters and it would have taken hours to get another boat into the area."

He looked at Harry and was surprised by his grim nod. "Why so sour? This is wonderful news."

"He just found out about the eight who didn't make it," Remus offered.

James stepped up to Harry and poked him in the shoulder gently to get him to look at him. "Harry, when the PM's office called me this afternoon, they were already preparing a press statement announcing the loss of the Orkney and all hands due to a mechanical failure during a storm at sea. It was an automatic thing. North Sea storms have killed hundreds if not thousands of sailors over the years. I know the loss of people bothers you, but before your dragons helped out, we were already preparing to acknowledge the loss of all hands."

James gripped Harry lightly on the shoulder and shook him slightly. "As a former Royal Navy man, I can't help but be deeply grateful for what the Weyr did today. You spoke about doing things that can make a difference? Well, tonight twenty seven families will sleep knowing their loved ones are safe. And that, lad, is a very real, very big difference. The navy will care for the others and see to their needs."

Harry nodded slowly. "Has anyone announced it to the Weyr yet?"

James shook his head. There hadn't been any time. The sound of another helicopter lifting off caused them all to turn towards the hospital. There was still plenty of activity, but now it looked mostly like the men brought in to help were cleaning up. Issac trudged slowly from the building heading in their direction. It was impossible to miss his exhaustion. For Issac and the other medical personnel, it had been an intense couple of hours, stabilizing patients and readying them for transport to better facilities.

"You all right, Issac?" Remus called worriedly. He had come to admire the wizard turned doctor and during his participation in the Lycanthropy study, had come to know him well.

Issac smiled. "Nothing that a good hot cup and something to eat followed by several hours sleep won't fix. That was the last of our patients being sent off. One of these days, James, I need to speak to you about the chances of moving my family into the Weyr. The hour drive home tonight is going to be a bitch."

James looked at Harry, who nodded immediately. He liked the idea of the doctor living at the Weyr and if that meant bringing his family, so be it. James grinned and turned back to Issac, "I think we can arrange it. I also think we can arrange for someone to drive you home tonight and pick you up in the morning."

Harry moved to the entrance of the hall and held the door open as they all filed into the building. He turned to Hermione. "Go sit with your folks. I'll join you in a bit."

She nodded and went to join her parents who were sitting with May and Susan Bones. Harry walked up to the front of the room and waited until everyone spotted him. The room fell silent and he smiled weakly. "I hope everyone has warmed up well enough. I don't know about the rest of you, but I had ice touching parts of me that no man should have ice touching."

The room filled with laughter and he laughed along with them, then he held up a hand again. "I think we learned a lot from today's rescue mission. All in all, twenty seven people were saved, thanks to your efforts. That's something to be proud of. I know I'm proud of you and your dragons. The rescue of the crew of HMS Orkney will be entered into our history as the first of what I hope are a string of great moments."

He paused and looked around. "We have shown once again that the Weyr can be a valuable partner to society. Gordon, you and Bob scored the first rescues. Well done. I know it was a difficult thing to fly so close to the water. Chekiath was nearly swamped and I know I would have been washed off his back when the wave breached us. It was only my harness that kept me in place."

Gordon Chapman looked up in shocked surprise, then he smiled and nodded his thanks. Chapman was the Weyr's problem child, but as usual, when the Weyr needed to pull together, he held up his end. It was only afterward that he tended to mouth off and make people angry.

Harry smiled at Chapman and he hoped that his compliment might head off another episode of what Chapman would do if he were running things.

"Everyone is to make sure your harnesses are dried properly and thoroughly inspected before you use them again. If you don't think it's good, draw another from supply and turn your old one in. Finally, we all had a nasty chill today. Watch out for any signs of illness. Don't ignore any coughs, fevers or headaches. Going Between can make any illness a lot worse. I'd rather you stand down for a day or two with the sniffles than to get seriously ill."

Satisfied, Harry walked over to where Hermione and May sat. He paused behind May and kissed the top of her head, before moving slightly and kissing Hermione too, before sitting next to her.

Dan Granger stared at Harry for a moment, then he shook his head and muttered, "Lucky bastard."

"Daniel Granger!" exclaimed Emma in shocked surprise.

"Daddy!" Hermione shouted.

Harry blushed and stared down at his plate, knowing Dobby would be along in a moment with his dinner. The elf had taken it upon himself to be Harry and now Hermione and May's personal elf.

May leaned around Hermione and nudged Harry. "He's just jealous. I mean, who wouldn't want two smoking hot girls?" she said playfully.

Hermione choked on her drink and turned to glare at May. This was her father she was talking about! May shrugged. She wasn't trying to irritate Hermione and her comment did have the affect of shaking Harry from his embarrassment. He sat next to Hermione smiling slightly. In his mind they were beyond smoking hot.

Dan hunkered down to his meal under the death glares from wife and daughter and he wondered if he'd be sleeping on the couch tonight. Emma had been working on him for several months now, warning him that there was a possibility of his little princess being involved in a poly-amorous relationship and he was finally coming to grips with it enough to be accepting. Now he just needed to learn to keep his mouth shut – at least when around his wife and daughter!

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- There was a lot of foreshadowing to what eventually happened to Hermione. The chances of Harry being there for her first time was zero since she had made it plain that she was still angry with him. Hermione, in canon and in our own stories, always struck me as the kind of person that needed to experience a hard lesson to get them to change their mind. Things did not go the way she had wanted them to and now she has to eat a little humble pie. I don't intend to draw out her agony, after all Harry truly does care for her as much as he cares for May, but she's not entirely out of the woods just yet.

A LOT of people want Harry to never forgive Hermione and I find that sad. First off, that isn't going to happen. It was my intent from the first word of the Queen who Fell to write Harry in a multi-relationship involving Hermione and another girl. The problem is fan fiction doesn't believe in relationships. Multi-relationships are wild bisexual orgy stories written by people that want to see how many people can wank off to their writing. They hold no resemblance to historical harems and no resemblance to real human psychology. There is no jealousy, no infighting, no angst and anger about being forced. Nope, magic makes it all possible and Hermione Granger, a muggle girl with muggle values suddenly finds she's bi and in a relationship with one man and four hundred and twelve other girls and she's fine with that. GET REAL.

In case you're wondering, yes, I believe that the crop of Harem stories being written are too far fetched to be believable let alone enjoyable. There is enough free porn on the net that people really don't need to read about underage girls being forced into adult relationships.

- Luna is a free spirit. That doesn't mean she's a slut. What it does mean is she's found love and acceptance among the riders and intends to return that love. In a way she is emulating the sexuality of the original Pern Weyrs where there were few established couples.

- Robyntalks wants to know where Trath is sleeping when May is staying overnight at Harry's. Well you see, that IS a problem that will get addressed. Right now Trath either sleeps in her own comfortable bed content in the knowledge that she's safe with the Weyrleader or she sleeps on Harry's roof. There is a scene coming up where that problem is addressed, but it's not for a few more chapters and Harry realizing that he needs to make room for two more dragons.

- A few complained that there should have seen more of the scene between Hermione and Marty. Ummm no. In case anyone hasn't realized it, this story may have a lot of sex going on behind the scenes, but you'll never see it because it isn't necessary. We're telling a story, not writing a porn novel.

- Rexnos, it's not that you didn't factor in the dragons enough, it's that you forgot that the dragons affect the riders and the riders affect the dragons. Chekiath knew how Harry felt about May and Hermione even when Harry didn't know for certain. Chekiath could have had more consorts, but he recognized that doing so meant either taking away female riders for Harry or dipping into the non-bonded pool. Instead he chose the two dragons who were bonded to riders Harry cared for. In his mind he was doing Harry a favor.

And finally a story recommendation. Considering past recommendations let me say that I think this story is good and worth your reading. That I recommend a story in no way endorses an author, but I think if you like it, you may like some of the other tales on offer.

This chapter's story is:

**MISSING** by **Potter8668**

StoryID:**6371968**

A one chapter, nearly 8k short that deals with the idea of how to train up a poorly trained Harry. Its an unusual take on the time travel genre and I found it very enjoyable. Ultimately its H/Hr but it's very very light. If you liked the tale, drop the author a review and tell him so.


	12. Chapter 12

**Standard disclaimer:**

Alyx stepped onto the stage and smiled at the audience. "Bob managed to entice me back from my brief trip south of the border and my chance to try out my do it yourself home plastic surgery kit by asking me to read a letter from one of my raving fans."

Bob appeared in a puff of smoke and handed, her a letter. He looked at her for a moment. "Did you know that one side is lower than..."

"Thank you Bob! I'm not done with them yet," Alyx exclaimed, then she pushed him off the stage. Bob fell into the orchestra pit, landing in the kettle drum. She frowned. "Next time I better aim better."

Shaking off her disappointment she eagerly opened her fan mail. "Hmmm Monkeyspanker69, well he's off to a great start with a name like that. Anyway Monkeyspanker69 writes, Dear Alyx, I have the solution for Draco's Who Who problems. In ancient times man often resorts to all sorts of artificial Who whos that were already hard."

"He's lying!" shouted Bob from the kettle drum.

"Shaddup you!" Alyx snarled, then she went back to her letter. "Draco can use ivory, or stone, or even whale bone which would be appropriate if you ever had him talk about his boner."

Alyx winced and Bob started to cackle hysterically. "You could even have Snapiepoo carve little scrimshaw shapes of teddy bears and ponies on it!" Bob cackled.

"I swear, he just doesn't appreciate fine art," Alyx muttered.

"_Harry!"_

Harry sighed. "Yeah I know, they aren't telling people that they don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon riders of Pern."

Bob and Alyx turned and glared at Harry who suddenly found himself wearing a duck costume.

"_Oh shit Harry, you pissed off the authors!"_ moaned Chekiath.

"Yeah but at least now the story can start. Quack!"

Harry pressed a wing against his bill and groaned.

"_I'm not letting you ride me with that thing on,"_ Chekiath stated. _"All the other dragons would laugh at me!"_

* * *

**Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.  
- Oscar Wilde**

**Village of Leebitten, Shetland Island in the North Sea, March 30th...**

PC Bainbridge had been enjoying a typical morning on the sleepy island of Shetland. So far he had dealt with a flock of sheep that had broken from their paddock and complaints of teenagers racing up and down one of the remoter roads. All in all, a typical and quiet kind of day and much better than his counterparts on the mainland. The most he had to deal with was the occasional drunk and disorderly, or lost tourist.

All that was about to change however.

He sat at a quiet table at Abbey's Tea and Biscuits, enjoying his mid-morning tea as he did most days. There weren't many businesses in Leebitten, but Abbey's was a central one, used by the scientists and historians that stopped in for hot drinks and a good solid meal before heading to the nearby historical dig sites on nearby Mousa island.

Harve Bainbridge fancied Abbey. Both were in their forties and divorced, so he felt no restraint against flirting with her every day when he came in for his cup of tea. He lifted the cup to his mouth and sipped thankfully. The heater in his patrol car was broken again and it was cold enough for him to be really chilled. And Abbey always saw that he got the best tea and sticky bun when he stopped in.

"ALIENS!" shouted a voice from the doorway and Harve spat out a mouthful of tea and dropped his cup. He turned and glared at old man McNamara, who was looking around with wild bugged out eyes. "Constable! Aliens! It's the end o' world, I tell ya!"

Abbey looked up from slicing a cake. "'Ere now, you old fool! Wot hav I told ye bout coming in here still drunk?"

Harve stood. "Now, Petey, you know there ain't such a thing as aliens. Why don't you go home and sleep off last night's bottle?"

"Constable, I'm telling you the truth! You've got to call up the army, tell them to send help quick! Them aliens are attacking and they dropped one of our ships in my field!"

Harve blinked. That was different. Usually with Pete McNamara it was the 'wee folk' causing his tractor engine to seize up or spooking his dogs.

Petey stepped forward and grabbed Harve's arm and tugged hard. "Come see! If I'm a lying, you kin put me in my grave here and now!"

Harve glanced over at Abbey, who shrugged, then wiped her hands on a dish towel. "Why not? Old fool is probably hallucinating again, but we can see his fields from out back."

Harve stood and grabbed a firm hold on the old man and dragged him to the back door with Abbey close behind. They exited the building and turned to look. Pete's farm was on the very edge of the village. Even from this distance it was impossible to ignore the huge ship lying on it's side in the field.

Harve stopped and stared, his mind absently cataloged the naval ensign hanging limply from the mast, the RN markings on the hull and, most importantly, the eerie silence from the ship. A shiver of fear slid down his spine and he had to wonder if Petey wasn't wrong. That field had to be four hundred yards from the water's edge.

"Oh, my lord," whispered Abbey in awe. She stepped closer to Harve as if seeking protection.

"Aliens!" thundered McNamara. "I told you so! I told them TV fellas too! They didn't believe me until they sent a helicopter out to see for themselves."

Bainbridge winced and glanced up. Sure enough, there were two of the island's commercial service helicopters circling over the ship and it was impossible to miss the camera man leaning out of the window of each, filming. No doubt the local office of BBC and Skynews were both filming.

What he didn't know was that both cameras weren't just filming, but the feed was going out live. Harry's command to put the ship 'someplace safe', resulted in Milzoth having his dragons deposit the ship on dry land, but not on Mousa island where the Shetland Weyr was located.

Harve released McNamara and he shoved him towards Abbey. "Look after him, will ya? Pour coffee down his throat until he sobers up and for Christ's sake, don't let him near a phone. I have to call this in."

Abbey nodded and grabbed a hold of the old man. "You be careful, Harve," she called. "Don't do anything stupid!"

He waved and rushed back through the building toward his car, and his radio to the main island dispatch. As he did, he was terrified that he'd soon be examining a ship full of dead men.

**Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, March 30th...**

Harry carefully read the report that Wayne Hopkins had sent him. It was about the American effort to understand the abilities of dragons. Mildred O'Connor was leading that effort in the hopes that understanding the dragons abilities would offer clues about Between.

According to Wayne's report, the dragons could withstand extreme heat and cold temperatures far in excess of what a rider could safely survive. Several sample scales had been sent to NASA in the United States for further materials testing. It was looking like the dragon scales were near perfect insulators. Additionally, there was a request to try using NASA's vacuum chamber to measure the dragon's ability to hold its breath, as well as test its ability to withstand lower pressures.

He frowned and made a note to ask Wayne to come by and explain it to him. The report went on to talk about millibars and pressure indexes and he could only stare at it in bewilderment.

"Harry!"

He glanced up to see an extremely worried Lord Mills standing in the doorway. Behind him was Remus and Sirius, who seemed rather amused by Lord Mills' state.

"Come on in," he said with a wave, then he looked closer at Mills. "James, what is the matter?"

James rubbed his temples. "We have a problem. A big one. Just what did you do with the Orkney?"

Harry blinked. "Erm... well she had already been taken away by the time we arrived on the scene. I told Milzoth to put the ship someplace safe." He paused and looked unhappy. "She was sinking, James. There really wasn't any time to give it a lot of thought. Milzoth told me she was slipping underwater when they grabbed her. Besides, you didn't say we couldn't move her, or tell us where to put her."

James shook his head. He was annoyed with himself. He should have anticipated this and he really couldn't fault Harry and the Weyr. When Harry mentioned saving the ship he never really believed it would be possible for the dragons to move it. The ship weighed over a thousand tons and with it filling full of water it would have been even heavier than that.

He walked over to the small TV Harry had in the office and flipped it on, then turned it to an all news cable channel.

The image on the screen stunned Harry. It was an aerial view of the ship lying on its side in a field. The commentator seemed to be extremely excited. He could see several police officers stringing tape around the ship, and from their size, he knew the Orkney was very large.

"_So far, the Admiralty is refusing to comment except to say that the HMS Orkney suffered a mechanical break down in the North Sea yesterday, resulting in the crew abandoning ship. Of the thirty five officers and crew, twenty seven are known to have survived their ordeal. The Navy and the Coast Guard are conducting an extensive search for the missing crew members, but they are feared lost._

"_The Admiralty said they have no idea how the ship ended up on land nearly four hundred yards from the sea. One suggestion, that a rogue wave or even a tsunami was responsible, was quickly shot down by oceanographers and geologists._

"_One of the islanders, and the owner of the field in which the ship appeared, is convinced this is the precursor to an invasion by aliens from outer space. The folks of Leebitten will undoubtedly have something to talk about for many years to come._

"_Meanwhile, local authorities have cordoned off the area and are preventing anyone from approaching. It is rumored that a team from the Admiralty will arrive soon to begin their own investigation. An anonymous source at the Admiralty was quoted as saying that 'the Admiralty has deep doubts about the aliens theory, but no avenue will be ignored' in their investigation._

"_The Prime Minister's office is redirecting inquiries to the Admiralty's office of Public Affairs. Officially, the PM's response to questions is that he intends to wait until the experts have delivered their report before commenting. The only official comment from the Prime Minister is heartfelt relief that so many of the crew were saved."_

Harry stared at the screen in amazement for a moment, then he picked up the remote and muted the television. He scratched at the back of his head thinking. "Well damn," he muttered finally. The size of the ship astounded him. He had no clue it was as big as what he saw on the television.

James stared at him. "Well damn?" he repeated incredulously.

Harry looked at the man and shrugged. "I'm sorry, James. I know this is a problem, but we didn't exactly discuss what to do with a Royal Navy warship that was in danger of sinking. The Shetland Weyr moved it to safety. Maybe I could have given Milzoth better instructions, but who expected this to happen?" he asked, gesturing to the TV, which was still showing images of the ship. "My concern yesterday was to get those people out of the water. Saving the ship was just an added bonus."

Sirius leaned against the wall snickering and Harry shot him a dirty look. He didn't need him making this worse!

James' shoulders drooped slightly. "I know, lad. Honestly, I didn't believe the dragons would be capable of saving the ship. When the captain reported abandoning ship, he reported she was down by the stern and wouldn't stay afloat much longer."

Harry smirked at him. "Dragons can lift just about anything, and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they could have done it with fewer dragons. It took less than a full wing to lift that ship and Milzoth told me it was partially underwater when they grabbed a hold of it." He waved at the TV. "The real question is just what does this mean for us? Have we blown our cover?"

"No, I don't think so," James replied slowly. "The one accident investigation I participated in took nearly a year to complete. If the Navy works as usual, they will spend a lot of time looking at what caused the malfunction and what could have been done to prevent it. In the meantime, the government will say nothing.

"But I do believe the PM will consider pushing things forward. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts thinking about a June or July reveal date. We got lucky with the Orkney. There were no witnesses to the dragons placing it in that field, and the men we rescued won't tell any tales. Their oaths will ensure that. On the other hand, had it been a channel ferry, there could have been hundreds of civilians. I don't want to consider the nightmare that would have caused.

"The problem is that the PM's office will realize all this, and also realize that the next disaster they ask for help on could be a channel ferry, or something equally large. The security problem then would be unavoidable."

Harry nodded and leaned back in his chair thinking for a moment. He stared at the television, but he really wasn't seeing it. The others fell silent, watching him. There had been a few times when they had thought he was talking to a dragon but instead was considering a plan of action. Finally, he turned back to the others.

"James, I would like you to deliver a message to your government and your Queen. The Weyr is willing to push our reveal date forward, but would greatly appreciate hearing the thoughts of the Prime Minister and Her Majesty concerning such a move.

"In our haste to save lives and property, we did not adequately plan out our actions which has caused unnecessary difficulties for our host government. The Weyr regrets that deeply and we'll endeavor to ensure it doesn't happen again."

James blinked in surprise. This was another instance of Harry slipping into a more formal mode when acting as Weyrleader. He wasn't even aware he was doing it half the time.

James nodded. "I will contact the PM's office and pass along your message, Weyrleader. I'm just thankful they didn't make any announcements until after the Weyr returned with the crew."

The PM's office had announced that an accident had occurred on board the Orkney and all effort was being made to rescue the crew. Since then, no official word had come from the PM's office, but the Admiralty had released information concerning the rescue of survivors. No mention of the ship had been made in either announcement. The Navy had expected to search for the ship this morning and find evidence of its sinking that they could report.

This was a public relations nightmare for the government, but not so much for the dragons. Harry wisely refrained from offering to move the ship to a more suitable location. That would only cause more problems.

Harry looked troubled and James moved to reassure him. "Don't worry about it too much, Harry. I can't go into details because all I know of it is mere rumor and speculation, but I'm sure the government has plans for security breaches like this. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are already being activated. We might not play up the alien angle like the Yanks do, but we still have tricks we can play to discredit a story."

Harry smiled and gave the man a nod.

James turned and Sirius and Remus moved to go with him.

"Sirius, can you stay a moment longer?" Harry asked.

Remus looked at Sirius, who shrugged and turned back to sit on the couch. Dobby appeared a moment later and handed Sirius a steaming cup of coffee, which he preferred over tea.

"What's on your mind, Harry?"

Harry stood and walked over to the window, then he turned to face Sirius. "It's this business with May and Hermione. It's fairly confusing at best. I know the muggles won't allow a legal marriage to two women, but what about wizards?"

"Marriage!" exclaimed Sirius. "When did this come about?"

"Dragons may couple as often as people, Siri, but the consorts they choose, they stay with for life," Harry answered softly.

Sirius' bunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What's the difference?"

"_Comaloth and Trath will only lay eggs from me, Smelly Dog. They are my mates. They may occasionally let another male have them, but only I am allowed to fill their bellies with eggs,"_ Chekiath offered from his stall. _"Likewise, I may sometimes cover another female, but only Comaloth and Trath will bear my offspring. For dragons, there is mating for the purpose of producing eggs, and there is coupling because we enjoy it. Comaloth and Trath will be my mates and have my offspring. They are among the best dragons in the Weyr and worthy of being my consorts. I could have had many more, but that wouldn't be fair to the other riders, and Harry would be uncomfortable with more. So I chose the very best for us."_

Harry nodded. "Mating for dragons isn't as tied to emotions as it is for humans. For them, it's also a recreational pastime with no real significance except during the mating seasons. The problem is we have what we know of Pern and their dragons and then we have what we know of our dragons and we're discovering that our dragons have changed in many ways from Pern. The concept of consorts didn't exist on Pern. It was developed here on Earth.

"I find myself in a position where I will have two very special women who will always be a close part of my life. If it were one woman, the right thing would be to marry her. But it's not just one woman and Muggle law won't let me marry two women. That's why I'm asking you, does wizard law allow that?"

Sirius stared at him for a moment, then he shook his head and started to laugh. "Harry, if only your parents could see you now. Your father would be preening and your mother would be pleased with the direction of your ideas, once she got over her horror of what you are suggesting."

Harry frowned at the older man and Sirius held up a hand. "But to answer your question, no the Wizarding world doesn't recognize plural marriages under any circumstances. Even contracted concubines or mistresses aren't considered spouses. Now, my question to you is a simple one. Why do you need to have some sort of recognized marriage? Katherine tells me it isn't uncommon for muggle wives to retain their last names these days, so it can't be the name issue. Regardless of who the mother might be, the child would still be a Potter.

At Harry's unhappy look he quickly added, "But if you are intent on marrying both of them, then probably the best thing to do is find yourself an Irishman."

Harry blinked and stared at Sirius. "An Irishman?" he repeated incredulously.

Sirius nodded and sipped his coffee. "The Irish have worked hard to keep the old druid traditions alive. They have a sizable minority of their population that still claim to be druids. You could find a druid high priest or priestess to perform a handfasting, if a ceremony is that important to you. The druids allow for multiple partners. It's not recognized by the ministry over there, but most of the people that do the ritual consider themselves married. It's more of a symbolic thing than a real marriage."

"Siri, it's not just important to me, but I think both May and Hermione would like some sort of gesture signifying the importance of what we have," Harry replied.

"I do understand. Have you spoken to May and Hermione about this?"

"No!" Harry said quickly, then he blushed. "I wanted to find out first what our options were, then I'd be able to explain it to them. It's hard enough when they are so much smarter than I am. Sometimes I feel outclassed by them."

Sirius nodded, it was something he could understand. Katherine was a lot smarter than he was in certain things. "Well, a handfasting isn't recognized by anyone except the druids and the people that undergo the ceremony. I think that's really your only option. I mean, you could marry one in England and then get married again in another country, but that's still illegal."

Harry walked over to his chair and sat down again. His expression was a mix of relief and disappointment. He had been hoping that the Wizarding world might offer a solution. The handfasting option would work, but it wasn't as formal as he hoped for.

"I think you're at least thinking in the right direction," Sirius offered. "You might also want to consider some rings for the girls. I know Lily put her promise ring in the family vault after James gave her an engagement ring. You could get copy made by the goblins and give them to May and Hermione. The next question is, have you talked to the girl's fathers? You know, asked permission?"

Harry stared at Sirius and the color drained from his face. That was something else he hadn't considered.

Sirius took in his expression and started to laugh again. Here he was, the Weyrleader of the dragons of Earth, with the power to topple civilization, yet ready to faint at the idea of talking to his girlfriend's fathers.

Sirius stood and waved to a shell shocked Harry and walked from the room. He couldn't wait to find Remus to tell this tale.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, April 2nd...**

"Can I talk to you?"

May glanced up from the textbook she was reading. It was an advanced veterinary text on anatomy. "Sure, Hermione," she replied with a smile. She motioned toward an open chair.

Hermione sat and glanced down at the book with interest. May followed her gaze and chuckled. "It's a book on animal anatomy. I thought that perhaps I could read it and maybe pick up some insights into dragons. We really don't have much of an idea about their internal makeup yet."

"What about the egg that didn't hatch?"

"Sir Robert says they aren't ready with their report yet," replied May uneasily. None of the riders liked to think about that egg. "If it happens again, I think I'm going to insist in being part of the team that dissects the remains. We haven't seen it yet, but I'm terrified we're going to come up against a ill dragon that we can't help simply because we don't understand them well enough yet."

Both girls glanced down at their book in a somber mood, then May glanced back up to Hermione. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Hermione nodded and she fumbled with her cup of tea for a moment. "This is a little embarrassing," she admitted.

May smiled wickedly, seeing her chance to tease Hermione a little. "Yes, he is larger than average. Not by an enormous amount, but certainly enough to notice."

Hermione looked up at May, her face flaming. "No, that wasn't what I was... really?"

May smiled and nodded a bit dreamily. "So, if that wasn't what you wanted to know, what's the problem?"

"Earlier in the week, Harry kissed me," Hermione admitted. "It was the most intense kiss, but what was surprising was my bond."

May nodded knowingly. "It expanded to include Cheki?"

"And Trath," Hermione replied.

May leaned back and smiled. "I wondered about that. I noticed that a couple weeks ago. I knew that I could feel Cheki, and to be honest, when I do feel that sort of thing, Harry's usually so busy doing... erm things, that I really don't have time to stop and analyze what I can feel over my bond. Once I really looked at it, I knew I was feeling Cheki and Comaloth too. That's why I haven't fought against including you," May replied, her blush beginning to match Hermione's.

"I wonder why Harry didn't mention this?" Hermione murmured.

"Hermione," May said reprovingly, "Harry feels so many dragons that he probably never noticed. We keep thinking that his bond with Chekiath is like ours, but I'm sure it's not. He still feels it when dragons close to him like Momnarth have a shagging flight. I've seen him touch a non-bonded dragon and put it to sleep so that I could work on an injury. You can only spell your dragon, so his bond has to be different. I can't explain it better than that. In a way, I think our bond is expanding to include the other dragons, giving us a taste of what Harry experiences all the time."

May smiled and leaned closer to Hermione. "He is an incredibly private man, but he can also be very affectionate and caring too. Part of that, I'm sure, comes from what his bond is doing and part is a result of how he was raised. He is gentle and caring and as you'll discover, very much interested in loving us the best way he can.

"If you would just give yourself a chance, I think he'll surprise you."

Hermione peered at May and wondered if she was hinting at something in particular.

**Office of the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Magic, April 2nd...**

The door to the office opened and a stern looking royal marine entered, following a short Japanese gentleman.

Albus looked up from the papers he was reading and blinked, then he smiled and stood. "Yoshi!" he exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise."

"Albus, old boy!" grinned Japan's most powerful and influential mage. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I would drop by."

The odds of Yoshi 'being in the neighborhood' were slim to none. He was here for a reason, perhaps more than one. Albus grinned and turned to the marine. "Corporal, it's fine. I'll escort Mister Masabe from here."

The marine nodded and left the room. Yoshi watched silently for a moment with a single arched eyebrow, then he turned back to Albus. "You are a far distance from your little tower in Scotland, my friend."

Albus glanced around and nodded a bit regretfully. "Truly, much has changed in the past year. But I like to think it's a change for the better. Let me introduce you around," he replied.

He gestured to Croaker, "You remember Alejandro, Yoshi?"

"How could I forget the man who introduced me to the joys of Butterbeer chasers? Until that night I had never gotten drunk before. A most intriguing experience. I still remember waking up the next morning and wondering how I ended up in Edinburgh wearing a kilt," Yoshi replied with a laugh.

Croaker smiled and waved at the man. He hadn't had as much contact with Yoshi as Albus had, but they belonged to the unique fraternity of mages. He wasn't about to admit what he wore when he woke up after that night. All he remembered was apparating away before Yoshi woke, wearing a wig and several pieces of female clothing.

Albus led Yoshi over to Sir William's desk where O'Hearny stood. "William, I would like to introduce you to Yoshi Masabe, Imperial Wizard to the Chrysanthemum Throne and Japan's ICW delegate. Didn't you also do a turn as Minister for Magic, Yoshi?"

Yoshi laughed. "Yes. One of my darker periods. I dabbled in politics and rose to discover that being minister was not as much fun as I thought it would be. The advantage of being an adviser instead of leader is the leader gets blamed for everything by everyone. The adviser only has one person blaming him."

"Yoshi, Sir William O'Hearny, Deputy Minister of Magic. Sir William answers directly to the Prime Minister and Her Majesty."

Sir William offered his hand and Yoshi eagerly shook it after a slight bow. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Masabe," Sir William said. "If I might inquire, what brings you to our Ministry today?"

Albus quickly conjured several chairs and Alejandro joined them. An elf appeared with a tea service and vanished as quickly as he appeared.

Yoshi shook his head in amusement. Japan didn't use elves as the British did. "I'm here for several reasons. I don't know if Albus has told you or not, but I am currently overseeing the talks between Greece and Italy. I thought that Albus might like an update on those, as well as other matters. Additionally, I have been tasked by my Prime Minister to see about arranging a meeting with your Weyrleader."

He paused and poured himself a cup of tea, then he smiled gently. "My government is very curious about some rumors we have been hearing and hoped that a conversation with your Weyrleader might clear them up."

Albus leaned forward in his chair. "Rumors?"

"There are tales of dragons with riders appearing. The riders never stay in any one location for long, and there are rumors of riders settling down in the southwestern United States. When I pressed the American delegate, he merely smiled at me. I believe another enclave of dragons has been established, perhaps more than one, but no ministry has confirmed that.

"A year ago there was one rider, now there appear to be many and the numbers seem to be increasing. While your country is truly noble, we think there is something behind the generosity you have shown the dragons. It is clear to us that they have something to offer that would interest the mundane government. My Prime Minister is curious about that. And just as importantly, he has heard about the dragons solving your dementor problem and he's asked me to inquire if they can do the same for us. You know the problem we have with those creatures."

He stopped and sipped his tea, watching his hosts closely.

Albus glanced at Sir William, who shrugged. After all, it wasn't something he'd been briefed on. The dragons were quickly becoming a very loose secret. All of Parliament had been briefed on the abilities and the opportunities they offered. There had been unconfirmed reports of the existence of an American Weyr in the papers, but no official word from anyone as yet.

"Yoshi," Albus said in a somewhat pained voice, "I am..." He stopped when Masabe started to laugh.

"Do not worry yourself, my friend. Even now our mundane Ambassador is talking to your Prime Minister. The Japanese nation has an interest in the dragons, both from a cultural perspective, as well a possible economic one. Truly, if they can help with the dementors, they will have accomplished a great service for my country."

"Why don't I call the PM's office and see what I can find out?" Sir William offered.

Yoshi nodded agreeably. "While you do that, I'll inform my friends here of the other things I have heard of late."

Sir William nodded and walked back to his desk to make his call.

Masabe turned to Albus and Alejandro. "Rumor has is that a certain ICW delegate is seeking to restore his besmirched honor. I don't have the details, except to say that one of our crime syndicates was approached about a job and they turned it down. Our inside man says that the client was pointed to a group in eastern Europe that was hungry for work."

Albus leaned forward. "And would I know this delegate?"

Yoshi nodded unhappily. "You know the Russian Ministry has been watching what your press has to say about the Weyr? I must say, keeping the Weyr unplottable was quite clever. I know several delegates who are curious as to it's location."

Albus blinked in surprise. "No, I did not know about the Russians."

Yoshi looked at the two men intently. "It is not just the Ministry of Magic. There have been rumors of the muggles becoming interested. There have been meetings between the Saudis and the Russians of late and we've heard that they are greatly interested in learning more about some purchases made by your muggle government. I don't pretend to understand it, but I do know who owns the Russian president."

The wizards nodded knowingly. It had been discovered that the Russian government was controlled by the wizards. The president of the country was kept in line via a combination of providing him entertainment in the form of young girls under the imperious curse and the constant threat of blackmail, revealing his fondness for those girls to the world press.

"You think this is related to the dragons somehow?" asked Croaker.

Yoshi shrugged. "Who can say? What I do know is Danakov is a vain and proud man who feels he has been slighted and he is close to his cousin, the Minister. He wouldn't dream of confronting the Weyrleader directly. He is not a mage, nor is he a good duelist, except in his own mind. I heard a rumor that the Weyrleader sent him fleeing in his underwear. Is the muggle interest and the magical one caused by the Weyr? I don't know, but I think caution would be prudent."

Albus nodded and quickly jotted some notes in his book, then he looked up. "How are the peace talks going?"

Yoshi sighed. "I wish I could say well, but both sides are dragging their feet. I fear that we will need to let the embargo drive them to the edge before they will talk and that worries me, my friend. Desperate people will do desperate things."

Yoshi looked at Albus slyly. "We could use your talents at the talks. All the world admires your ability to get two parties talking. I'm sure with the right nudge here and there, they will start talking, but right now they act like children fighting over the last sweet in the box."

"Yoshi," Albus replied, embarrassed by the flattery. "I couldn't get away to help there full time, but I suppose I could break away for a few days if you're deadlocked. My duties here have me busier than ever."

"In all seriousness, we could use your help, my friend. Greece and Italy have been bickering hotly since the talks started, and I've yet to get them into the same room without casting body binds on them," Yoshi said, then he grinned. "It is difficult to have a meaningful discourse when your principles are immobilized and stuck to their chairs."

Albus nodded. "I will make your request known to my government. I am certain they will allow me to assist."

Yoshi smiled broadly. "Excellent. And perhaps in your free time we can get in a game of ten pin? I have been practicing hard since you trounced me at our last match."

Albus was about to reply when Sir William approached the pair.

"I've spoken with Prime Minister Major. He has made arrangements for Ambassador Itsumi to visit the Weyr in two days time. The PM's office is contacting the Weyr to make the necessary arrangements," Sir William said. "Lord Mills will be meeting with the Prime Minister today. He'll be able to let the Weyrleader know about the meeting."

Albus looked up sharply. "Is it wise to be scheduling the meeting without first talking to Harry?"

Sir William smiled. "I asked that same question, considering the Weyrleader's attitude when I made the mistake of assuming they would help with the dementor issue. The Prime Minister told me that the Weyrleader has asked the PM to schedule any introductions to the dragons that he wants. He only asks for a few days warning."

Albus nodded thoughtfully and turned back to Yoshi, "There you go. You'll have a meeting with the Weyrleader in two days. If you can curb your curiosity until then, they have a wonderful way of introducing the dragons."

Yoshi nodded agreeably. He could wait two days and he preferred having the muggle ambassador along. He had a general idea of muggles and their abilities, but he knew he lacked a true understanding of their society.

"Yoshi," Albus said, "let me write up a quick note and then if you like I'll show you some of the changes we've made here. It is a much changed Ministry from your last visit."

Yoshi nodded and watched with amusement as Dumbledore painfully tapped out an email to the Prime Minister's office, containing the request to aid in the talks. As an after thought, he also included the information about the rumors concerning the Russians.

**Diagon Alley, April 2nd...**

"Excellent, Lee, these will do the trick," Nelson Ollivander said, laying one hand on the large box of scales. Next to the box was a smaller one containing twenty of the new core wands.

To Lee's embarrassment, Harry insisted on naming them 'Jordan wands'.

The wands were made to order and cost fifty galleons each. Right now, only people with a permit could purchase a Jordan wand, with the bulk of them going to aurors and hit wizards. Garrick Ollivander didn't want to get too involved in making the wands, so the Weyr did the basic assembly and Garrick finished the raw wands, turning them into something that a wizard would find attractive.

"We're going to be increasing the amount of scales again, Nelson. Can you handle that?"

Nelson grinned. "Handle it? Lee, you've seen the orders. You're currently the only source of dragon core materials and you're supplying six countries. Even once the Yanks get their own distribution up and running, you'll still have the European market locked up. You get me the scales and I'll find you buyers."

Lee flashed him a dazzling smile. He had spoken with Harry about his role in the Weyr and was thrilled to learn that Harry wanted him to be the public spokesperson for the Weyr. Lord Mills had arranged for Lee to talk several times with the director of the press office for the Prime Minister and the man had suggested several books for him to read. Once he'd begun to dig into the subject, he'd discovered that the muggles had universities that taught these topics and to his immense delight, math was not a required subject.

His wands and collecting scales would eventually be passed off to another as more riders became available. For now, he still collected the scales and delivered the wands, which were made by several riders, including two muggles. Harry had been initially shocked by the fact that two of the non-magical riders were helping make the wands, but as Lee pointed out, there was no magic involved in making them. Each of his helpers received ten galleons for each wand they made. The Weyr made fifteen galleons per wand with Ollivander marking up the price beyond that.

Lee glanced down at his paperwork. "So we have twenty custom wands and two hundred and twenty scales this go around."

Nelson jotted down the numbers. "Uncle Garrick will need a week to finalize the wands, but since they have been pre-paid, I'll be able to credit your Gringotts account right away. Iverson in the States is asking if we can supply four hundred scales. He estimates that should be sufficient to see to his needs for a full year."

Nelson looked up at Lee, who frowned slightly.

"That's a lot at one time. Would he be willing to accept it in multiple shipments? Four lots of one hundred, or even two of two hundred?"

Nelson nodded. "I don't think that will be a problem. He's just worried that he won't have enough on hand for the start of the next school year. Don't forget, he supplies wands for forty percent of the American market."

Lee nodded. "Tell him that we can supply him with two hundred next month, and another two hundred the month after that."

Nelson nodded. "Excellent! Is there anything else, Lee?"

Lee nodded. "Just one thing. Do you know if Joyero's is open this early?"

"The jeweler?"

Lee's skin tone darkened and he nodded.

"Looking for a ring, perhaps?"

Lee blinked and shook his head. "A ring?" he squeaked. "No! I mean, well... it's too soon. But it's her birthday and I thought I would find her something nice. She's not a witch, so I thought maybe a magical smokey crystal or maybe even a image-stone pendant."

Nelson nodded agreeably. "I'm sure she'd like that. Joyero's should be open this early."

Lee grinned. "Then I'm off to buy a birthday gift," he said.

Nelson watched the young rider leave his little office above his Uncle's shop and shook his head. Lee was a strong wizard and would have been a valuable member of the wizarding world. But now he was a dragon rider, and embracing the muggle world, even dating a muggle dragon rider. It was a shame, but Nelson wouldn't let personal feelings interfere with business. And the Weyr brought him a very lucrative business, even after Uncle Garrick took his cut.

Lee exited Ollivander's after giving the old wand maker a wave, then he turned and made his way to Joyero's Fine Jewelry, established in 1509. The shop specialized in crafting some of the finest magical adornments the world has ever seen outside of Gringotts. Some of Joyero's ancestors work could be seen in the current crown jewels of Britain.

"_I shouldn't be long, Sor,"_ he sent to Soranth. He glanced up to the roof of Ollivanders shop. The old man had reinforced the roof and added a stairway so that a dragon could land there without disrupting traffic in the alley.

"_I'll watch from here, Lee,"_ replied his dragon. _"Do you know what you're looking for?"_

Lee faltered in his stride. _"No,"_ he admitted. _"I like Mariah a lot, and maybe someday, if I'm lucky, we could have something more, but it's too soon. I want to get her something magical, and not give her the wrong idea."_

Soranth knew that Lee hoped they'd stay together. Mariah had come to him a month before her dragon rose for the first time and they had made love. Mariah, like so many of the other non-magical riders, was coming to understand that their magical counterparts placed a greater emphasis on the act and were deeply connected to their emotions.

That the dragons were picking and choosing consorts didn't seem to bother the wizards as much as it did the muggle riders. The wizards were more open to the idea of committing to possible long term relationships than their normal counterparts.

Mariah was first attracted to Lee by his easy going, fun loving personality. But as she learned more about him, she found there was an appeal there that was very strong. He made her feel good about herself and made her feel like she was needed for who she was and not just because she was pretty. Her first boyfriend had paraded her around like she was some sort of prize he had won. Lee treated her like a friend first, and she greatly admired him for that.

Twenty minutes later, Lee stepped from Joyero's Jewelers very pleased with his purchase. As he'd explained to Nelson, Mariah was his girlfriend for now, so the gift was something appropriate for a girlfriend. Once Mr. Joyero understood what Lee was looking for, he led him to a case full of small pendants. Lee examined them carefully before picking out a small ball shaped crystal pendant. By itself, it wasn't very impressive. But holding the ball and and staring into it would reveal an illusion of the moon rising over a small farm house. Lee wanted something that would be magical and it fit the bill exactly. He rounded out the set with a pair of silver earrings that glowed with an internal light of their own.

"_Mariah will like those,"_ Soranth said.

Lee paused in his stride. _"I hope so. I wanted her to have something that she'd want to wear."_

"_I don't understand why people need to put adornments on themselves, but I'm sure she'll be very pretty with them."_

Lee smiled. It was an old problem. They were constantly butting up against customs that the dragons didn't understand and humans found impossible to explain. He opened his mouth to explain when suddenly Soranth bellowed from the roof of Ollivanders and launched himself skyward. Lee blinked in confusion. He stared at his dragon, trying to understand why Soranth was so upset. A sharp pain in his back flared and spots filled his vision. Lee collapsed to the ground unconscious, never knowing he had inadvertently walked into the middle of an assassination attempt.

Nearby, Carlos the Gerbil ignored the teen that now lay crumpled in the street. The spellfire that came from the youth's direction continued unabated. His shoulder was bleeding heavily and it would have been much worse had the teen not walked into the line of fire.

Carlos lifted his wand and cast a series of explosive spells back at his attacker.

Enraged, Soranth landed down the street from the source of the spellfire that hit Lee. Being a Chinese Fireball, he was one of the smaller dragons of the Weyr, topping out at just under thirty three feet in length. But what he lacked in size, he made up for with agility and a unique ability to shoot balls of flame as well as steady stream.

Werner Migartt was shocked senseless when he saw how quickly his target responded to the attack. It spoke of a level of ability on par with his own, and he was one of the best in his field.

He had been hired by Tobias Bunniford as insurance. As long as Tobias contacted him every couple of weeks, he was paid to sit around Diagon Alley. The Swiss Gnomes who handled the contract had sent word that Bunniford was dead and he was free to complete the contract. It was the news that Migartt was waiting on. While he was getting paid to hang around Diagon Alley, there was a million galleons waiting for the successful completion of his contract.

He raised a shield and waited for Carlos to pause in his casting. The man was powerful, but Migartt had a huge arsenal of spells, as well as his muggle pistol.

Carlos stopped casting, shocked into silence.

Migartt had just enough time to hear the growl behind him when a massive clawed paw cut him in two. He stared dumbly down at his midsection while his legs folded underneath him and he slid to the floor in two pieces.

Recognizing a break when he saw one, Carlos stood carefully and groped with his left hand for the portkey in his right hand pocket. Thanks to his shoulder injury, his right arm was useless and bleeding heavily. He needed to escape and quickly!

Attracted by the movement, Soranth looked up from staring at Migartt and belched out a fireball the size of large watermelon. Carlos gasped and lunged out of the path and Soranth bellowed in anger. He fired off another fireball and Carlos rolled desperately out of the way. While rolling he managed to reach the portkey and pull it from his pocket. He vanished just as the skies above the Alley erupted with dragons bellowing in anger.

Chekiath dropped to the ground with Harry already dismounting as he touched down.

"Chekiath, see to Soranth," he ordered.

The Chinese fireball moaned. He stood over his rider, bobbing his head and whimpering. Harry was comforted by the fact that the dragon was still here. That meant Lee was alive, for now. He knelt by the teen and looked at him somewhat helplessly. There was a slowly spreading pool of blood and he simply didn't know what to do.

A man with gray hair suddenly shoved Harry to one side and knelt next to Lee. He pulled out his wand and started casting spells, slowing the bleeding.

Harry leaned back and looked relieved. "You're a healer?"

The man nodded. "Yes, now shut up and let me do my job."

Soranth growled and the healer glanced up at the large dragon, his face suddenly paling.

"Soranth, stop that! The healer is trying to help Lee," Harry commanded.

"_Soranth, obey the Weyrleader,"_ Chekiath commanded. He made a sharp barking sound and the Chinese fireball cringed back. The Weyr settled on the rooftops, staring down into the alley and everyone realized that the dragons were very angry.

"_My rider,"_ whimpered Soranth.

"We're trying to help him, Soranth," Harry said in a softer tone.

"I need to move him to St. Mungo's," the healer announced.

"Lee is going to be okay, isn't he?" Harry asked.

The healer frowned. "Eventually, but I need more help if we're to get him through this."

The healer pulled out a small string which he laid on Lee's chest.

"Wait, how will we find you?" Harry blurted.

The healer smiled. "Come to St. Mungo's and ask for Thor Sorenson. I'm the senior healer for the Spell Damage ward."

With that, the pair vanished. Soranth shrieked, but Chekiath barked another command, causing the distraught dragon to wince and cower back once again. Chekiath moved closer to Soranth and the ground trembled under his feet. There was no control of weight here, this was pure alpha dragon enforcing his will and Soranth huddled back from Chekiath, watching him intently.

Harry stood slowly and looked around. There was a fairly large crowd of people, riders and wizards looking on.

"May," he called. She stepped forward, Hermione on her heels, both looking deeply worried. "Return to the Weyr and inform Issac what has happened, then please ask him to accompany you to St. Mungo's. I would like him to be able to explain to us Lee's condition and what treatment he'll need. Chekiath and I will escort Soranth there. Ronan, see if you can find out what Lee was up to?"

"He had just made a purchase from me, Mister Potter," said a voice.

Harry turned to see a small man with a delicate look to him. "I'm sorry, you are?"

"Teddy Joyero of Joyero Jewelers. Your young rider had stopped in to buy a gift for his girlfriend's birthday," said Joyero.

Harry ignored the gasp and muffled sob from Mariah, who stood nearby. Hermione and several other girls moved to her side to comfort her.

"He had just left my store when someone attacked a man standing on the steps of Gringotts. I'm afraid your young man was caught in the middle of that fight. I'm certain he didn't realize what was happening," Joyero concluded. He glanced back to where Migartt lay in the street and paled. It hadn't occurred to him that someone had died.

Harry nodded, then he grimaced when he spotted two aurors approaching, pushing their way through the crowd.

"What happened here?" asked one of the Aurors. The other was staring down at the body in horror. Mr. Joyero repeated what he witnessed through the window of his store. He didn't see Soranth slice Migartt in two, but he did see the firefight that Lee got caught up in.

"One of my riders was injured when two men tried to kill each other here in the Alley. His dragon killed one of the men, and the other portkeyed away just as we arrived," Harry said angrily. He wasn't happy that these aurors had arrived so late.

"So the dragon killed a wizard?" asked one auror.

Harry looked at the man with narrowing eyes. He didn't like the tone the man was using. "It was self defense. The dragon was protecting his rider."

Chekiath turned his large head to stare at the auror. The man frowned and he looked at Soranth, who was still very upset about his rider and barely aware of what was going on around him. Lee being unconscious was affecting him deeply.

"I'll call magical animal control," the auror said. He turned and skidded to a halt when Chekiath moved to block his path. The huge dragon bared his teeth and smoke drifted from his nostrils.

"You will do no such thing," Harry said flatly. "Did I not tell you that he killed in defense of his rider?"

"But the animal killed a wizard!"

Harry went rigid and the flat, icy look in his eyes may not have been all that impressive, as he wasn't a tall man. What was impressive, however, was the amount of magic warping the air around him in response to his anger.

The auror froze, realizing that he faced someone with far more power than he had and just the raw magic bleeding off Harry was making him ill.

"Dragons are not animals. They are intelligent beings, no different than you or I. Soranth is my responsibility. If he had committed a crime, it would be _my_ responsibility to attend to it, not yours. However, no crime has been committed. He killed in self defense. If you're smart, and your words lead me to believe that may not be the case, you will leave. Now. You've insulted the dragons and the Weyr. As you also seem to be the unobservant sort, I'll point out that you happen to be surrounded by very angry dragons. Of course, they'll only get what's left of you once I've finished with you."

The dragons lining the rooftops added to the noise as they growled along with Chekiath. The auror stared at Chekiath, who was showing off nearly a hundred needle sharp teeth. He stood motionless and his bladder let loose, then he bolted from the scene to the derisive catcalls of many of the Alley's denizens.

Harry turned to the other auror, who shrugged.

"I'll speak to Director Shacklebolt, Weyrleader." The man sighed. "To be honest, I've known for a while now that Akers really wasn't suited for the job, but I had no valid reason to complain about him. I agree the dragon was acting in defense of others, but it's likely someone will want to interview the dragon."

Harry relaxed slightly. "He's in no condition for an interview at the moment. Soranth is suffering from the fact that his bonded is injured and unconscious. I can understand your need to interview him, but we'll have to wait until his rider is awake. You can make arrangements for that interview through Albus Dumbledore, office of the Deputy Minister for Magic."

The auror nodded. He was a muggle born wizard who had been a police inspector before the Ministry takeover. The Weyrleader had impressed him, if for no other reason than he had managed to scare Akers to death. He had been putting up with that pillock for months and he was sick to death of his snide comments and vague innuendos. That the Weyrleader was a mage like the paper reported there was no doubt, and yet he hadn't used any magic to chase Akers away. Just his sheer presence and that of his dragons was enough to send the man scurrying.

The auror turned to Joyero and started his interview. He wanted to wrap this up so he could personally deliver his report to Shacklebolt and his old boss, Senior Inspector Stokes.

Harry turned away and walked over to Soranth. He reached out and gently grabbed the distraught dragon by the muzzle, pulling him until they were eye to eye. "Soranth, listen to me," he said intently. "Chekiath is going to lead you to the place of healing where Lee is. I promise you that we're going to do everything to see Lee gets better. But for now, you need to concentrate. We will take care of you until Lee can."

Soranth locked gazes with Harry. _"Lee will get better?"_ he asked worriedly.

Harry nodded. "I hope so. But let's go see, all right?"

Harry understood that without Lee providing his side of the bond, Soranth would have a great deal of difficulty focusing. It wasn't so much that his intellect was being affected, it was the overwhelming worry Soranth was now feeling.

Harry nodded to Hermione, who stood with Mariah, Susan and Karen. Hermione nodded in understanding. They would get Mariah to the hospital and watch over her.

Satisfied, he turned and quickly scaled Chekiath to his spot and snapped his harness restraint into place. He glanced around for a moment, then he heard Chekiath ordering the Wings back to the Weyr. When the wings vanished, Cheki turned to Soranth. _"Soranth, you will follow me,"_ Chekiath said. His tone allowed for no leeway. It was unmistakably a command.

Chekiath sprang aloft, then he circled waiting for Soranth to join him. A moment later, the two dragons leapt Between, leaving a single auror to deal with the slowly dispersing crowd of wizards and dragons and one cooling corpse.

**The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, April 3rd...**

Carlos woke to a searing pain and he gasped.

Someone gently lifted his head and placed a cup to his mouth. "Drink this. It's a pain relief potion."

With his shoulder hurting so badly, he eagerly drank down the foul concoction. Slowly the pain faded away, leaving a dull ache and slight numbness in his shoulder. He sighed in relief. "Anna?"

"Yes, Carlos," she replied. "You arrived here unconscious nearly ten hours ago. I had one of your men pick up some potions and I called in a healer I know and trust. You owe me two hundred galleons, by the way. The visit from the healer is cheap enough, but paying for his silence costs extra."

She pulled out her wand and deftly vanished the bandage from his shoulder, then conjured a new one to replace it. "This is going to hurt, even with the potion, but I'll try to be as fast as possible."

She reached with the bandage and Carlos captured her hand with his good arm. "Why? You could have left me to bleed to death," he gasped.

Anna tried to pull away and then she hissed in pain as he squeezed tighter. "Stop," she stammered painfully. "Yes, I know I could have let you die, but what would have that gained me? With you dead I'm sure one of your 'associates' would arrange for an accident for me. I suppose I could have slipped you a potion that allowed me to control you, but again, you probably have that little contingency covered. The simple fact is, I'm better off now, with you, than without you.

"I could have turned you over to one of your underlings for them to care for you, but I suspect you trust them even less than you trust me."

"So very true. Alberto would have enjoyed making you scream slowly," he admitted. "But I don't think you need worry much about that now. You have proven you can be loyal, even if its just self interest that motivates you. Now, put the new bandage in place."

She nodded and carefully put the new bandage on his shoulder. The gaping hole that he had arrived with was nearly closed and the Healer's spell slowing the blood loss to a trickle kept him from bleeding to death.

Carlos watched her carefully. She had proven her loyalty, but that didn't mean he was going to relax his guard around her.

"Healer Jenkins said you had destroyed your shoulder and had he not attended you, it would have been much worse. You were hit with a bone dissolving curse. Carlos," she said timidly, "what happened?"

Carlos started to shrug, then he stopped with a wince. "I have been a target before and will be again in the future. A bone dissolver suggests this was a professional hit. Most amateurs don't even know that curse exists. When will I be able to get up?"

"Tomorrow," she said softly. "But the Healer cautions against any major exertion for a week."

He nodded. "I don't intend to fight anyone, but I have someone in the Ministry who might know more about the man who attacked me. I am good, but even I knew I was in trouble. Things may have ended very differently, had it not been for that dragon. It's ironic, Anna. Here we struggle to fight against the muggles controlling the Ministry, and their dragon allies and a dragon saves me."

Anna carefully cast a sticking charm to the bandage, then she cast an alarm charm. She removed her robe and slid into the bed next to Carlos.

He looked at her, the surprise evident on his face.

She smiled at the unspoken question. "You need to have the bandage changed and take another potion in four hours. Jenkins might be a pervert, but he's really a top notch healer."

She reached over to the bed stand and picked up a small blue bottle. "Here, take a sip of this. It won't put you to sleep, but it will relax you so you can sleep naturally."

He nodded and accepted the bottle. Her attitude surprised him and he found it rather different than what he was used to. Despite her admission of self interest, there seemed to be more than that involved.

Anna took the bottle from his hands and put it back on the table. "Sleep, Carlos. Two more bandage changes and you'll be over most of this," she said, then she leaned a little closer and used her free hand to caress him.

Strangely, Carlos found the experience comforting.

**Campbeltown Weyr, April 3rd...**

Harry slipped into his quarters. It was very early, nearly two in the morning, and he had been ordered back to the Weyr by Doctor Sheppard. Issac was assisting Healer Sorenson in treating Lee Jordan. He wasn't a trained healer, but he was a muggle doctor and the healers, once they got over the shock of a wizard being a doctor, accepted him and his offer of help. Harry was especially glad they were willing to listen to Issac because that meant there was someone that he personally trusted that could explain Lee's condition to him.

Lee had been hit low in the back, the spell coming dangerously close to his spinal cord. Unlike the healers, Issac recognized the dangers and immediately ordered Lee be placed on muggle medications to keep the swelling to a minimum. The healers didn't understand what the danger of the swelling around Lee's spinal cord meant, but they reluctantly agreed to use Issac's 'medicine'. Between Healer Sorenson and Issac, his prognosis was guardedly optimistic.

Issac patiently explained Lee's condition to Harry, and what his recovery might entail, then he ordered Harry home. He had been sitting all day in the waiting room, hoping to hear about Lee. Harry had personally sent Mariah home hours earlier with a promise that Chekiath or one of the other dragons would bespeak Buth, her dragon, if conditions changed.

He left St. Mungo's reluctantly, but he knew he really wasn't leaving Lee alone. Soranth, Momnarth and three other dragons had taken up positions on the roof. The presence of Momnarth and the others helped ease Soranth's anxiety, although only Lee waking up would ease it completely.

He carefully stepped onto the narrow walkway next to Cheki's sand-bed and the two entered his quarters. The walkway allowed him to enter without disturbing Cheki's bed, or tracking sand into the house proper.

Chekiath turned in circles several times before settling in on his bed, as usual, facing the living room and the entrance to Harry's bedroom.

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading. He was surprised to see her sitting in his living room wearing only a robe and her pajamas.

"I was hoping they would kick you out of there. Even Mariah didn't stay at St. Mungo's as long as you did," she said.

"No," he said tiredly. "I sent her home around eight. She was exhausted."

"Susan and Callie are keeping an eye on her tonight. Is there any change in Lee's condition?"

"Issac said it's just a matter of time. The healers took care of the majority of the damage, but they didn't understand the danger to his spinal cord. Issac thinks they have that under control now. He's optimistic."

Hermione nodded. "Well, that's good. Now come have something to eat, then I think its time for you to go to bed."

"I am tired," he admitted.

Hermione nodded. She knew he was tired just by the fact that he wasn't questioning her presence.

He sat at the table and picked up a sandwich, which was probably made by Dobby. Only Dobby made sandwiches that big. "Has May gone to sleep already?"

Hermione frowned for a moment, then she realized he wasn't asking to hurt her, he just wanted to know. "Heeth has developed some kind of illness. She's sleeping in the little bedroom they have in the infirmary and keeping an eye on her. She asked me to make sure you didn't stay up all night."

He smiled slightly. They knew him too well. Without May or Hermione, he probably would have spent several more hours trying to catch up on the work he had missed out on while dealing with the Lee's injury. "Another scale problem?" No matter how many times the riders inspected their dragons, scales continued to be an ongoing problem area for the immature dragons.

"No. Cary's pretty good about those sort of things. This is something different. May says if she didn't know better, she'd say the dragon has the flu or a bad cold," Hermione replied. "Spath says he's seen this illness before. It rarely kills a dragon, but while they have it, they do feel miserable."

Cary Cayouette was a witch who'd impressed at the second impression. She'd been found at one of the smaller hedge academies and was rather popular among the riders for her open attitude towards normal people. It was rumored that she was interested in a boy from Maziang and the pair had been learning the language of the other.

Harry nodded and walked over to the table where food was laid out, still warm, thanks to Dobby and his preservation charms.

He glanced over at Hermione and again noted her attire. "I take it you've decided to move things forward a bit?"

May and Harry both knew Hermione was of mixed mind about joining them. She wanted to, but something was holding her back.

Hermione sat opposite him and poured herself a cup of tea. "Just a little bit. Does that bother you?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm just surprised that's all."

"Well, I had planned on using the bedroom next to yours at first, but then I thought that was no different than what we had at Hogwarts and we know we can handle that with no problem," she replied, then she hesitated slightly. "I thought maybe you wouldn't mind if I slept in the bed with you. Just sleeping," she added hastily.

He grinned at her. "Alright, but I'm going to tell you the same thing May told me the first time she slept in my bed. I am not responsible for what my hands do when I'm asleep."

Hermione blinked and blushed slightly. "I can live with that," she said after a moment. "My parents tell me that I was rather clingy with my teddy bear when I slept, so you might not be the only one reaching out."

Harry lifted his cup in acknowledgment, then he tried to suppress a yawn.

"I think sleep is what you need most right now," she murmured.

He nodded. "It's strange. Most of the day was spent sitting in a small room waiting for word on Lee. I'm surprised I'm this tired," he admitted. He pushed his plate away, too tired to eat, and he didn't like sleeping with a full stomach.

Hermione noted his action and made a mental note to see he had a decent breakfast. She stood and held out a hand to him. He looked up and smiled shyly, but he took her hand. In the bedroom, he quickly stripped down to his boxers.

"What side does May usually sleep on?" she asked suddenly.

He looked at the bed and frowned slightly. "Mostly on my left side. I can't recall her being on the right."

Hermione nodded and fingered the belt on her robe nervously. "Then I'll claim the right side," she announced.

Harry nodded and wondered if one day he'd come in and find the sheets bearing dotted lines marking whose side was whose. He was thankful that he rarely needed to go to the loo in the night, climbing over someone could get really tedious.

He pulled back the blanket and slid into bed, then he looked at her. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

She fingered the belt again and he chuckled, causing her to scowl at him. "Hermione, do you really think I would try to do anything you don't want me to do? You're just going to sleep and I'm not going to bite. Well, unless you want me to."

She made her decision and undid her belt, letting the robe drop to the floor, then she hurriedly climbed into bed. She froze when Harry quickly turned and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, then he turned back, facing away from her. "G'nite, Hermione," he said. He was already starting to drift off.

Hermione lay there for quite a while, afraid to move and unsure whether she should be disappointed that Harry hadn't tried anything, or impressed. She finally drifted off without deciding.

**Department of Magical Law Enforcement, April 4th...**

"You looked exhausted," said a voice.

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up from the paper he was reading and grimaced. Benjamin Stokes stood in the doorway holding a mug of tea. Stokes was a senior CID Inspector and a muggle born wizard who was Shacklebolt's co-director and chief liaison with the muggle law enforcement agencies.

"I'd look better, but I spent the night reviewing the pensieve testimonies from yesterday's attack in Diagon Alley," Kingsley replied.

Stokes sipped at his mug of tea and nodded towards the pensieve. "Oh? Have you come to any conclusions?"

Shacklebolt leaned back on his chair and idly scratched at his bald head. "Yeah, our first idea that it was an attack on a dragon rider was totally off. This was an attempt to kill the man who was standing on the steps of Gringotts. Near as I can tell, Lee Jordan walked out of the jewelry store just as the attack started and got caught in the cross fire. He was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Stokes nodded, having similar cases of innocent bystanders before. "Any ID on the two involved yet?"

Shacklebolt picked up a piece of paper. "The corpse has been identified as Werner Migartt according to Tom Mackey, the inn keeper from the Leaky Cauldron. He checked in a while back and has been hanging around the alley, apparently waiting for his victim to show up. We haven't been able to confirm his identity, so we're not sure if it's an alias or not. He paid coin upfront instead of billing a vault, so we can't even use that to trace him."

Stoke frowned. "It probably is an alias," he muttered.

"I agree," added Shacklebolt. "Everything about the man seems to be professional. Generic wand, not a single address, letter, or note among his personal effects. Even the clothes he was wearing gave no real clue to his origin. The only thing we have for that is his Germanic sounding name and the fact that Tom said he spoke with an accent. Given his accent, we've sent snippets of the memories to the German, Austrian and Swiss Ministries in the hopes that one of them may be able to provide a concrete identification.

"The other man hasn't been identified at all. Most witnesses were too far away. I'm hoping that once the dragon rider recovers we might be able to get an image from his memory. We asked the Goblins and as much as they wanted to help, the man had paused to look around before entering the building. He hadn't done any business with the bank yet so they never got a good look at him."

"Can't you get the memory from the dragon? From what I understand, their eyesight is far better than ours." asked Stokes.

Shacklebolt blinked and looked surprised. "I never thought of that! I don't know, but I'll ask Dumbledore if that might be possible," he replied, then he jotted down a quick note.

"How is the dragon rider, anyway?"

"St. Mungo's sent over a report on his injury and his condition as of six this morning," Shacklebolt said, then he rooted around on his desk until he found a sheet. "Jordan was hit with an explosive piercing hex that narrowly missed his spinal cord. Our healers don't normally see a lot of spinal injuries, but they were able to heal most of the other damage. The Weyr sent their doctor, who's also a wizard. He put Jordan on some kind of muggle medicine. The general opinion is that the combination of treatments is working. They've upgraded his condition from guarded to fair."

"I didn't know the Weyr had a doctor," Stokes commented in surprise.

"Apparently the PM's office found him for the Weyr. He's a muggle born wizard who returned to the muggle world."

Stokes smiled. He, too, was a muggle born who'd returned to the normal world when he was refused a position among the aurors. It wasn't a uncommon tale. A lot of muggle born entered the wizarding world and left after learning that the bigotry they experienced at school was minor compared to the rest of the society. It was an attitude that the Ministry was now actively fighting. The old bigotry was not acceptable any longer.

"Jordan was delivering dragon scales for their use as wand cores. He also delivered another dozen Jordan wands for our department," Shacklebolt looked up and grinned at Stokes. "Yes, he's the one that first came up with the wands. After dealing with Ollivander, he went to buy a gift for his girlfriend's birthday. He was injured after leaving the jewelry store."

Shacklebolt didn't know that some of the Jordan wands were supposed to be delivered to the new department of Mysteries that Croaker was rebuilding.

Stokes nodded, then he decided to bring up a more delicate subject. "Kingsley, about this report from Inspector Haskell."

Shacklebolt held up his hand, stopping him. "I know, I read it, Ben. I had Akers in here last night for a bit of a dressing down. Unfortunately, we're too short handed to just let him go. I've reassigned him to the prisoner transport detail for now. He's also on probation. Why he deliberately tried to antagonize the dragon riders is a mystery. He knew that the Department of Magical Animal Control no longer dealt with sentient creatures."

Shacklebolt sighed and shook his head angrily. They really didn't need this sort of distraction! "The down side is now Haskell has to suffer with a boot auror straight from the school. Stimpson is highly rated and recommended, but he's still a rookie."

Stokes grinned. "Don't worry about it. Jimmy Haskell has broken in rookies before. He'll do just fine and you'll have a good auror when he's done with him."

"I hope so," Shacklebolt muttered, then he picked up a report from another auror team. It was going to be a long day.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, April 4th...**

Harry sat at the table with a slight smile on his face. Hermione had spent the night, and while he had tried his best to be a gentleman about it, sometime during the night she had curled into his shoulder and placed one hand in a rather intimate place while she slept. He woke to discover Hermione holding him and his body responding eagerly to her touch. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to slide away from her without waking her.

What he didn't know was that Hermione had woken a few minutes before he had. At first she had been mortified to discover what she was holding. Then, since there was no sign that Harry was awake, her shock changed to intrigue. She wished she could have pulled back the cover to take a closer look.

When Harry showed signs of stirring, she quickly pretended to sleep at least long enough for him to get out of the bed and into the shower. While he'd prepared for his coming day, she'd had time to consider what she had learned. It had dawned on her that while she hadn't indulged in dorm room gossip back at Hogwarts, she had listened to it and assumed that Harry would act like the boys that Lavender and Parvati always talked about. It was a surprise to realize she had been expecting Harry to behave in a manner that was totally out of his character. It was a sobering thought for her to consider. Had she actually allowed her belief in Harry to be swayed by gossip from Lavender and Parvati?

Harry looked up and smiled in greeting when Hermione sat opposite him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

She nodded and looked down at her plate for a moment, then she scowled. "I'm not going to eat all of this," she announced to his surprise, then she picked up her plate and pushed a couple eggs and some bacon off of her plate onto his own.

He looked at her in surprise and she shrugged. "You really didn't have enough to eat last night," she said, suddenly feeling silly. Since coming to Hogwarts she had always showed some concern for Harry, but this smacked of pure Mrs. Weasley.

He peered at her for a moment, then looked down at his plate with the four eggs and mound of bacon on it. "Thank you," he mumbled.

Hermione nodded and waited until he started digging in before she turned to her own breakfast.

The pair ate quietly for about ten minutes, then Dobby appeared with a small pop and offered Harry a note. He was surprised to see it was from Issac, then he remembered that all of the elves living at the Weyr responded to any of the people who lived or worked here.

He unfolded the note cautiously, almost afraid to read what Issac had to say about Lee.

_Harry,_

_Lee is responding well to medication and potions. I expect he'll awaken later this afternoon for a brief time. The healers expect that they will keep him here at least until next Monday. As one of the physicians on the case, I must insist that any visitors today be kept to the barest minimum. Perhaps in a few days he'll be up to talking to more people. I will be back in the Weyr this afternoon for several hours before returning to hospital to check up on Lee._

_Issac._

Harry nodded, then he pulled out a pen and quickly scribbled a line to the note and handed it back to Dobby. "Give this to Mariah, please," he said softly.

Dobby nodded and vanished again, only to reappear two tables over. He handed the note to Mariah, who read it, then looked up and smiled weakly at Harry. She had slept only fitfully all night and was dreadfully worried about Lee.

"Good news?" Hermione asked.

"Issac thinks Lee will awaken later today. He wants the visitors kept to a minimum, so I told Mariah to go."

Hermione leaned back and grinned. "She'll love you for that."

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "It's better if she goes. I'm sure she'll ask him what happened and I can always find out from her, or Soranth, once Lee wakes up."

"So what are you planning for today?" she asked.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I'm hoping to get some work done this morning. In the afternoon, I have to meet with the ICW delegate from Japan, while their regular Ambassador meets with Albert Ford. I suppose if the meeting goes well enough, Japan may become home to our fourth manned Weyr."

Hermione hadn't had much contact with Albert Ford. He had installed himself in an office near Lord Mills and spent several days talking to Mills and Sir Robert before approaching some of the riders for additional information. It was his job to oversee the introduction of dragons to the various governments and any negotiations needed. Lord Mills and Harry had worked out the basic parameters of what was needed. With that framework, Ford was able to negotiate on the behalf of the dragons.

"Do you ever get a break?" she blurted.

"Honestly, not really," he replied with a weak smile. "Why do you think I made such a big deal about what happens in my home?" he asked quietly. "I know I could get called away at anytime. It's the only place that I can relax. Take last night. I had one of the best night's rest ever. It's one of the things you two do for me that I deeply appreciate."

Hermione blushed at his words. She also had a very good nights sleep, and an even more interesting morning. Then Harry said something that shocked her so much he had to repeat it.

"I said, I'm looking forward to discovering other things to appreciate in our relationship," he said intently.

"Harry," she said hesitantly, trying to warn him to not expect too much, "I'm not as pretty as May nor do I..."

She trailed off at his thunderous scowl. He leaned closer to her. "Stop it. I told this to May and now I'll tell you the same thing. I will not discuss or compare the two of you without both of you present. When we're together, I will be with you and only you. The same applies to May. Both of you are beautiful in different ways and I'm not going to let you put yourself down by comparing yourself to May. I refuse to compare you two and I'm not going to accept it from you."

Hermione stared at him through watery eyes, shocked by his words. She reached out and gripped his hand tightly in her own. Part of her hesitation came from her own insecurity and the fact that her first time had been rather traumatic. She knew Harry wouldn't hurt her, but she was still inhibited by that first encounter. His words eased her concerns. In her mind, May was far prettier than she was, and she was certain that May wouldn't be so inhibited in bed like she was sure she'd be.

In his refusal to even consider any open comparison between the two, Harry knocked one of the reasons for her reluctance out of the picture.

"It'll be fine, Hermione," he said gently. "I don't compare you two and neither should you. Each of you are special in your own right. I see it, even May sees it. See it for yourself and believe it like we do."

She nodded and he released her hand, turning back to his meal, while she worked to master the emotions that flooded through her.

When Harry finished his breakfast, including Hermione's extra eggs and bacon, he stood and smiled at her. "Will I see you tonight?"

"Maybe," she replied honestly. "I think I'll talk to May and see what her plans are. I think it'll be certain that one of us will be there."

**Chinese Embassy, Athens, Greece, April 4th...**

Colonel Jin Tan Mu signed the form, then he carefully removed the money from the safe. Most embassies had a special fund of counterfeit US dollars and other real currencies which they used to pay off informers. The idea was simple. Pay off an informer using money that couldn't be traced back to the People's Republic and at the same time help destabilize the American currency.

There were two separate fund in the safe. One contained real money and was used only for informers or local communist party members who had proved their value and friendship. The counterfeit money was used for the people unknown to the station staff. During any given year, two or three people walked in off the street looking to market some secret. Such people were treated very carefully until they proved their worth. In the meantime, they were paid using some of the finest counterfeits ever made.

From the safe he pulled nearly one million pounds and over ten million counterfeit American dollars. He would need it for his plans. It was an enormous amount of money and the watch security officer didn't even blink when he accepted the form. The man was too afraid of the Colonel to question the need for so much money.

He had thought long and hard before making this decision. The politburo was wrong to ignore the danger posed by the Imperialist wizards at Campbeltown and once he had destroyed them, they would understand just what a great act of courage and service the Colonel had performed in the name of the revolution.

It would take time to assemble what he needed, but with the money, he'd be able to buy the supplies and recruit the forces necessary. He'd need to act cautiously, but now that he had removed the money from the safe, he was committed. It was an act of defiance and freedom that made him giddy. It didn't bother him in the least that the watch security officer would probably be executed for failing to stop the theft.

He'd destroy the imperials and protect the motherland and party. In his mind, he could see himself being awarded the Peoples highest honors, then they would give him a parade. He was sure of that.

**#10 Downing Street, London, April 4th...**

"Yes?"

"Sir, Lord Kennewick and Sir Basil are here as you requested," said the secretary.

Prime Minister Major nodded. "Send them in, then hold all calls."

The two men filed into the room and Major smiled thinly. "I apologize for disrupting your routine, but a message arrived to me from Mr. Dumbledore that I thought you would find interesting. Mind you, normally this would have gone through regular channels, but we can hardly fault the old chap for sending it to me directly. Odds are that he just doesn't know who to send this sort of stuff to."

Strangely the fact that Dumbledore had sent the email directly resulted in a delay. Major rarely checked his personal email because his chief of staff normally reviewed all messages making sure he got to see what was important. By sending it directly, Dumbledore accidentally bypassed that entire system.

Major passed each man a sheet of paper. The message was brief and had more than a fair share of typographical errors. It went on to detail the warnings passed to him by the ICW delegate from Japan.

"This is the first time I have heard about the Saudis and the Russians meeting. Why would they be interested in what happens at the...oh," exclaimed Sir Basil.

Lord Kennewick placed the message on the coffee table and turned to stare at the large wall map of the United Kingdom. In his mind, he was mentally overlaying another map on top of the one on the wall. Finally he turned back to Major. "Damn, it never occurred to us!"

Major arched an eyebrow. "Cyril?"

"The COSMOS satellite overflights! What if they weren't looking for information on military installations. What if they were looking at the Weyr?"

"Well, they can't see the dragons, can they?" asked Major.

"No. We had the Americans provide us with photos from one of their KH-11 satellites and the dragons never showed up on the film. I understand dragons have to want to appear in a photo or be totally preoccupied with something else before they're visible," Sir Basil answered. "I suppose we should have expected this. Sir Robert and his team have placed some very high priced purchases around the globe and have done little to keep the matter secret."

"Yes, I should have expected it, as well," added Major. "In fact, I warned Lord Mills about this being a potential issue months ago."

"It's worse than that, sir," Sir Basil added. "One of my boys in the Economics and Technologies department has been looking at potential hot rock applications. He's come up with a chart that suggests our oil dependency will drop significantly as certain technological hurdles are surpassed. We all know about the power generation issue, but my man seems to think that we could see a return to steam power or even an attempt to finally turn a Stirling heat engine into a useful tool, rather than a curiosity."

Sir Basil paused and looked uncomfortable. "I know I find the idea silly, returning to steam, but as it was pointed out to me. the old steam engines were a result of the then state of the art technology. Today, they can make them safer, smaller and more efficient, but no one had a reason to. Fuel sources like coal are too polluting and wood too expensive. A half hundred weight of hot rocks could power a vehicle like a city bus for years and the only thing it would need was periodic refilling of water for its tanks.

"The introduction of the hot rocks changes our energy base. Our E&T department produced a chart that basically showed our national dependency on oil gradually lowering until we reach a point where we're importing barely forty percent of our current figures. And that will be used primarily for lubrication and plastics production."

Major leaned forward in his chair. "What sort of time frame are we talking about here?"

Sir Basil blinked in surprise, "We're still talking decades, sir. E&T believe that the hot rocks will be the next century's laser."

Kennewick and Major looked at Sir Basil and he chuckled. "Don't feel bad. I had to have it explained to me, as well. Anyway, the story goes like this. In the mid 60s some bright chap invented the laser. It was an interesting experiment in high energy physics and nothing more. It took years before lasers found their way into technology. The inventor was quoted as saying they had invented a solution for problems that no one knew even existed and he was spot on with that statement.

"Hot rocks have the potential to do the same thing. Dragons are about to become a very valuable commodity on the world stage. Any country that controls their dragons will be able to write their own ticket."

Major snorted and tried to stifle a laugh, then he glanced over to Lord Kennewick, who was also smiling.

Sir Basil looked between the two and frowned. "What am I missing?"

"Basil," Major said, shaking his head, "I'm afraid you weren't given the whole story about dragons."

Basil blinked, then scowled. As senior national intelligence chief, he was decidedly unhappy that someone would withhold any information from him. "Oh?"

Major nodded. Standing, he walked over to a cabinet and unlocked it, then pulled out a folder. "What I'm about to tell you is rated so secret, less than ten people in our government know it."

He sat back down at his desk and opened the file. "Sidraneth, the first dragon to come to Earth so many years ago. The one the dragons call the Mother of all dragons," he said, then he glanced up to Sir Basil.

Sir Basil nodded. He knew the mythology of the dragons.

"She was genetically engineered by humans, from a point in time that we now estimate to be at least four thousand years in our future, possibly as much as eight thousand years. You see, Basil, dragons can not only teleport through space, they can teleport through time. We are extraordinarily blessed that our Weyrleader is an honest lad, who truly only wants to have a good life for his dragons. The Weyr has the ability to destroy civilization as we know it. Imagine Campbeltown jumping back to the seventeen hundreds and attacking London. They could own the world in a week if they wanted.

"So, no country will control dragon-kind. The Weyrs will operate independently and treat nations on the basis of who they consider to be friendly to them and help where they can. Any country that attempts to control dragons by force is liable to discover their forces destroyed even before they move against the dragons, simply because the Weyrs outside of that country will respond to an attack and jump back to a point before the attack happened. It is our position, and that of the Americans, that we will support an independent Weyr. The alternatives are too terrible to contemplate."

"My god," breathed Sir Basil, "it's worse than nuclear weapons."

"Indeed it is," Lord Kennewick added. "I don't have as much experience with the Weyrleader as John here, but I firmly believe that the Weyrleader would never do any such thing unless faced with the absolute annihilation of his dragons. The Weyrleader would prefer to be helping us rather than hindering us."

"Yes, Lord Mills told me that the Weyrleader was quite unhappy that they couldn't find all of the crew from the Orkney," Major added.

Kennewick turned to stare at Major. "You have got to be kidding. We would have lost the entire crew had it not been for the Weyr. I know the ship caused problems, but no one saw the dragons place the ship there. We'll be able to move and repair it. She'll see service again. The Weyr saved us millions since we won't have to replace her. I can understand how he feels about about our losses, but without his help, the losses would have been so much greater.

"I've kept it fairly secret, but I know the Coast Guard is going to be clamoring to employ some dragons for search and rescue operations," he said, then he paused and smiled slightly.

"And don't think we haven't noticed what Sir Robert's doing. Those hot rocks have the potential for us to replace the nuclear reactors in our submarines," Kennewick said with satisfaction. He had a working group looking at what kind of cost savings they would see if they could replace a reactor with a source of power that provided the same benefits and relieve them of the radiation hazards. The group didn't understand the task because they didn't know about the hot rocks, but they followed orders and did what they were told.

Sir Basil shot Major a look as if he were saying "I told you so." The push to find other uses for hot rocks was just beginning.

"All right, we're getting off track here," Major said after a moment. "The real question is, do we have a problem with Russia and the Saudis?"

Kennewick looked unhappy. "Russia is most likely controlled by wizards. How pervasive their control is remains to be seen, but we have clear evidence that suggests there is wizard control of several key ministries. The Saudis remain an unknown."

"I think the real danger comes from the warning that someone might make an attempt on the Weyrleader. That's likely to be the short term threat," Sir Basil added. "Can we put some security on him?"

Kennewick nodded in agreement.

"I'll ask, but it's hard to place security on someone who can teleport to anyplace on the planet," Major replied. "And let's not forget the lad does have the largest dragon in the world guarding his back."

All three men trailed off into silence. None of them wanted to think what the dragon response would be to an attempt to kill the Weyrleader.

**The Weyr Theater, Campbeltown Weyr, April 4th...**

Harry slid down from his position on Chekiath and smiled in greeting. The Japanese Ambassador and the Japanese ICW delegate both stared at Chekiath. Harry shot Lord Mills and Albert Ford an amused look, then he stepped forward. The two men had met with a couple dragons following the movie, but Harry had been sidetracked on Weyr business and had arrived late.

This was their first exposure to the largest dragon on the planet.

"Ambassador, delegate Masabe, allow me to introduce you to the Weyrleader, Harry Potter and his dragon Chekiath," Albert Ford said.

"_The Weyr welcomes you, honored guests,"_ Chekiath said. _"May you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

Harry smiled broadly at that. The dragons had debated for three days about a greeting for people they didn't know. They were slowly coming to understand that there were people who weren't Lord Holders, but should be treated as if they were. After much discussion, Spath and Chekiath had agreed on this greeting, which Harry immediately approved. It was sufficiently different from a human greeting that it would become a signature saying of the dragon community world wide.

Harry bowed slightly, recalling that the Japanese use a bow as a gesture of respect. His bow was shallow, reflecting his station as Weyrleader. The Ambassador gave Harry a deep bow, and Yoshi gave a shallower one, following in the tradition of meetings between two mages.

Yoshi turned to Chekiath and gave a much deeper bow. "On behalf of myself and of my country, thank you for your most gracious welcome, noble dragon. His Imperial Majesty has asked me to convey our deepest apologies for our mistreatment of your kind. Had we only known, we would have treated you much better," he said. The man held his bow, his face flushed with shame.

"_You could not have known, sir. We didn't know ourselves until I impressed my Harry,"_ Chekiath replied.

Harry stepped forward and placed a hand on Yoshi's shoulder. "Please, Mr. Masabe, the dragons are willing to judge a people by their actions of today, not of the actions during what they call the 'time of the beasts'. If Japan is guilty of a crime, then every nation that hosted a dragon preserve except Tibet is also guilty of the same crime. It is not easy to forget, but it is easy to forgive, when a people are willing to change their ways."

Masabe straightened up and looked at Harry inquisitively for a moment. "Your youthful appearance hides your wisdom, Harry Potter. It shall be as you say. Let Japan prove itself now by it's actions."

Harry nodded and turned to the Ambassador. "No doubt you still have questions even after viewing our film about the dragons and what they offer, Mr. Ambassador. Mr. Ford is able to detail our needs, should your country wish to have a manned Weyr like this one. Before I leave you in his capable hands, I would ask you to remember one simple fact. Dragons are people. They may look differently than we do, but they are people just like you and I."

Ambassador Itsumi nodded. "It is a strange thing, but I can see what you are saying, Weyrleader. Hopefully we'll be able to talk more later?"

"I do hope so. Japan having a Weyr of it's own would be an advantage to your great nation. Imagine a Weyr that daily receives busloads of children from schools. Imagine a Weyr that is more than just a source of economics, but eager to be part of the community. A Weyr has much to offer beyond just being a source of clean energy."

Harry turned to Ford. "Brief the Ambassador about the Orkney. Let him see that we can be a real boon to a nation that welcomes us as equals."

Albert smiled. "I'll do that, Harry."

Yoshi stepped up to stand next to Harry. "Well then, while the Ambassador and Mr. Ford talk, I'll ask the Weyrleader to show me around."

The Ambassador bowed to Masabe. He knew of the man and knew he was the personal envoy of the Emperor. While the Ambassador might wield a higher secular power, a personal envoy of his Imperial Majesty held a much higher spiritual power that he wouldn't contest.

Harry waited until Mills and Ford escorted the Ambassador to a waiting car for the short ride to the administration building, then he turned to Masabe.

"If you'll follow me, sir?" Harry said, then he turned in the direction of Hangar Two. Chekiath walked behind them, listening and watching.

"I note your little movie was surprisingly devoid of any mention of magic," Yoshi offered.

"That's right," Harry said with a nod. "We're preparing the Weyr to be revealed to the world at large, but magic isn't our secret to reveal. The dragon's magical abilities will be explained as either part of their genetically engineered makeup or as some unknown function of physics that we currently do not understand."

Yoshi nodded, "A wise precaution. I take it that the Weyr mostly utilizes muggle technology?"

"For the most part. Our Weyrhealer uses a mix of magical potions and muggle medicine and techniques. I know I've disappointed my teachers by not embracing magic more, but I'm afraid that magic will always assume a minor role in the Weyr by necessity."

Yoshi stopped and turned to Harry. "What do you mean?" he asked in surprise. He knew Harry was Britain's latest declared mage, but he hadn't heard anything about Harry not working to assume his role in society. Traditionally, mages always rose to high positions within their parent society. To find one ignoring that tradition was very unusual.

"I am the leader of a nation of dragons and riders. Although we try hard, we were barely able to insure that one third of our riders are magical. Like the rest of the world, muggles outnumber wizards and the Weyr will eventually reflect that ratio. We are lucky to maintain a one third wizard to two thirds muggle ratio, but that number will go down as the pool of suitable wizard candidates shrinks. Right now, we can keep the one third ratio, but in the near future, that number will drop to reflect the real muggle to magical ratio.

"It would be unfair to my non-magical riders if I try to capitalize on magic, so that means that everything needs to be done without it. If my wizards want to find magical ways to accomplish the same for themselves, I won't stop them, but I won't allow my non-magical riders feel left out because they don't have magic."

"I did not realize you were rejecting your heritage," Yoshi blurted.

"_He is not rejecting his heritage. He does try to learn magic. What everyone seems to forget is, as the Weyrleader, he must set an example for all of his riders. It is why he doesn't use his warming charm on me very often,"_ Chekiath said with a faint complaint in his voice.

Harry smiled and reached up to caress his dragon's muzzle. "Silly oaf. You know why I don't."

"_Yes because someone like May can't cast the spell on Trath,"_ Cheki replied with a resigned huff, then he turned to look at Yoshi. _"It is not easy being the dragon of the Weyrleader. He works hard to set an example that all can follow, and I, as his dragon, must do the same."_

Harry turned back to Yoshi, "I do work on my magic and try hard to continue my studies. But the Weyr and my dragons come first. I don't think it's a big deal if it takes until I'm in my mid twenties before I am ready to take my NEWTs, assuming I take them at all."

Yoshi nodded in understanding. "I believe I understand your situation and it is very unusual. Is the Weyr rejecting magic and magical societies as well?"

Harry scowled. "You misunderstand, sir. The Weyr will aid their friends. Any nation willing to agree that dragons are not mindless beasts to be harvested for potions ingredients can be counted as a friend. We have aided the British and the Americans, for example. We make no distinction between normal people and wizards."

Yoshi nodded. He had read about the dragons helping protect the schools in Britain. The bit about America wasn't a surprise either, considering how quickly they had jumped to the Weyr's support at the ICW. It was also the first real confirmation he had about an American Weyr.

Yoshi held up a hand. "I meant no offense, Weyrleader. I only ask because I had hoped we could speak about a problem we Japanese have. I hoped we could ask your dragons for help with a magical problem that has vexed us for centuries. Unlike our British cousins, we never developed spells to compel obedience. Our culture ingrains obedience into us from the day we are born. As a result of this, we have a problem with dementors that I was hoping we could ask your aid with."

"You don't have a way of compelling them?"

Yoshi managed to look embarrassed. "Sadly, we find such spells distasteful and are harder for us to learn. Oft times we need to hire western wizards to cast such spells for us. Our dementor population is small, less than one hundred and fifty for all of our islands, and they are confined by wards. The wards are unfortunately an imperfect solution. Each year as many as twenty dementors escape and we have to round them up. Unfortunately, we also must deal with the damage and mayhem they cause when they escape."

A low growl issued from Chekiath and Harry shot him a quelling glance, calming the dragon.

Yoshi eyed the huge dragon warily.

"Dragons consider dementors a threat wherever they are found, sir. I think it's safe to say that arrangements can be made to do something about them," Harry said, then he quickly sent a message to Chekiath.

"Does your Ambassador know of the dementor problem?" he asked.

Yoshi blinked, then he nodded. "I briefed him myself. It was one of the primary reason why we wanted to meet. "

Harry turned back to Cheki. "Have Narth mention the issue to Albert and ask Karen Khan to join him in his talks."

"_Right away, Harry,"_ Chekiath replied.

At Yoshi's surprised look, he shrugged. "Karen oversaw our dealing with the dementors for the British and worked with the muggles on the bounty they paid for each dementor we killed. As much as I would like to say we'd do it for free, I have had it drummed into my head time and time again that I must look for ways to help my dragons earn their way. A hundred and fifty dementors would easily pay for us to establish a manned Weyr in Japan."

Yoshi nodded. "I do not pretend to fully understand this thing with the rocks, but my colleague seemed rather excited about them. Is such a thing really valuable to muggles?"

Harry walked up to the doorway to Hanger two and paused. "It is all about power. You understand power at a deeply personal level, but muggles use a different kind of power to run their society. The dragons offer the muggles a source of clean cheap energy that doesn't harm the dragon or the environment."

He held open the door and let the older man enter. Harry stepped in behind him. "This is our main class facility for holding dragon related lessons. We also hold lessons on magic in this building. Muggle classes are held near the science complex at the far end of the Weyr."

Harry led Yoshi into the large central meeting area and he gestured towards the three members of Sir Robert's science team, who were working with Gordon Chapman and Kirteth. The small dragon seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, bouncing on a large white floor mat.

Yoshi seemed to surprised to see there was a large muggle device hanging on the wall.

"Kirteth, and his rider Gordon Chapman, have volunteered to help with the development of a computerized alphabet board. The idea is simple, really. The white mat contains all the letters in the English alphabet. By stepping on the correct letter, the dragon can reply to any question someone asks."

Harry turned to the rider. "How's the testing going?"

Gordon shrugged, "Well enough, but the dragons want the ability to save what they type. That means the whole thing needs to be redesigned."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Save what they type?"

"_Like a word processor, Weyrleader,"_ said Kirteth. _"We examined the device and realized that several of us would like to try writing, like some of the riders do."_

Harry was aware that most of the riders used their computers for school work, but he didn't know anyone was using them to write anything else.

"_Comaloth says her rider writes some very naughty stories, many about you,"_ Chekiath said privately. He blinked and was immensely grateful that Chekiath didn't feel the need to share that piece of information. Chekiath added publicly, _"I have used this video writer, but the smaller dragons are more agile in using the keyboard."_

Harry gestured towards the machine hanging on the wall. "The device will enable us to allow the dragons to communicate with others. It's one way we'll use to introduce the muggle world to dragons."

Yoshi nodded, impressed by the machine, even if the dragons were not. He knew a little about technology. His country was a leading innovator of such things, but he hadn't paid much attention to it personally.

He allowed Harry to lead him away from the machine with the dancing dragon and he quickly found himself sitting in a chair across from Harry in the adjacent class/meeting area. "Mr. Masabe," he began.

"Please, call me Yoshi," the man said with a gentle smile.

Harry nodded and returned the smile. He liked this wizened wizard. He had an openness about him that even Dumbledore lacked. "Then you must call me Harry," he replied. "If things go the way I think they will, your Ambassador will be pressing your muggle government to establish a manned Weyr within your borders."

"You are that confident?"

Harry grinned. "It boils down to power and economics, both of which the dragons represent in abundance. Only the most backward of governments would not want a Weyr within their borders. As to the dementor issue, the Weyr looks forward to working with your government and your people to destroy them."

Yoshi nodded and continued to listen as Harry explained the huge world map with all it's pins marking the locations of Weyrs. While he listened, another part of his mind pondered the enigma of the Weyrleader.

As a mage, Yoshi had managed the incredibly difficult mind split, effectively allowing him to partition his mind so that he could concentrate on multiple tasks at the same time.

With all of his intellect, he still had trouble grasping the concept of a mage who wasn't really interested in learning about magic. He liked the Weyrleader, but he was a puzzle. The man had known dozens of other mages in his life time and none were like the young man sitting before him. An interesting puzzle indeed!

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- Well it's another chapter and the Hermione haters are refusing to go away. So I'll say it. Go away. This story is not going to change because you don't like Hermione. The next Hermione hater will be pubicly paraded in the mockeries wearing nothing but their dirty underwear. If you don't like what we've written we point out the fact that your computer has a little used program on it called wordpad or whatever the mac version of that program is. You are welcome to write your story your way.

- I know there has been some calls for more Draco time, and more Narcissa etc. This is one of those stories that has a huge cast. Not everyone will get equal airtime. That's just the way it shakes out. I'll also point out that the Original Dragon Rider series had the same problem and they ended up spinning off the Dragon Singer series in the same universe because they had that many characters too.

- Joyero's Jewelers was stolen from Abraxan's Time of Destiny series. I admit it, I revel in it. But just in case, I filed the serial numbers off it so it can't be proved in a court of law.

- Gemma Destiny Seer logged in long enough to leave a review stating that they were tempted to leave an unsigned review just to annoy us. Gemma, unsigned reviews don't annoy us because we just delete them. We make it a point to not even read them. So if you want to waste your time, be our guest. :)

- Yes it is true that Millicent Bulstrode's relationship has elements of slash in it. That doesn't mean you get to see it. Sorry Twinwolfsister, but we don't write slash. If you were to see any inside of that particular relationship, it would be only from the Het side.

- A lot of people worried about the ship and yeah it IS going to be a bit of an issue, but seriously, no one really thought the dragons could save the ship except for the riders. Several people complained about that, but the simple fact is, that IS Pern canon. In all the Weyrs of Pern the dragons move three massive anti-matter engines (like the size of a supersized aircraft carrier) into a giant crevasse on the Red star. (The rogue planet that brought thread in to attack Pern). Moving a 1250 ton ship would be child's play compared to the careful positioning required to move those engines. And for you Pern fanatics, before you say anything, remember that the Red star DID have gravity. Moving thousands of tons of mass from orbit to a rogue planet still took a lot of lifting power.

- The other issue that has people worried concerns that hit man. All I can say is that you'll find out, but thus far no one has guessed rightly. And some of you... sheesh. Why would anyone outside of the Dreadlock haters society put a hit on Lee? That's almost as funny as the guy who thought the hit man was really a nun in disguise, running away from her illicit lover and the rabid penguin. So not happening.

And this chapter's story recommendation is called;

**Walkabout** by **Fringeperson**

StoryID: **6915344**

This tale is unique in that it turns canon on it's ear from the get go. I will caution you that the Australian accent in the beginning can sometimes be hard to understand, but I strongly urge you to stick with it. This Harry is unlike any other Harry you've seen before. If you like the tale, take the time to tell the author. I think it's worth your time and at nearly 12K words, it's a fun read.


	13. Chapter 13

**Standard disclaimer:**

Bob walked out onto the stage and stumbled into a pool full of water. Sputtering he climbed out of the pool and glared at Alyx who was in the pool. "What are you doing?" said a dripping Bob through gritted teeth.

Alyx looked up from her pool toy and smiled brightly. "I'm modeling the next stage of my Who Who epic to see if it's feasible," she replied haughtily. "You always said I should model."

"Yeah, lingerie, and beachwear for me, not for the rest of the wor..." Bob trailed off and stared at Alyx's pool toy. It looked remarkably like an eight foot long Who Who that someone had duct taped cardboard smoke stacks to.

"I see you're admiring my handiwork," Alyx said, then she carefully maneuvered the massive Who who, turning it to face Bob and making a deep horn sound not unsimilar to what a ship would sound like.

"That that what!" Bob sputtered, then just in case he moved slightly off center from the gigantic floating who who. He had no idea just how realistic it was and he didn't want to find out!

"I'm doing a remake of the Titanic for my epic novel," Alyx exclaimed, then she held up two remarkably lifelike figurines of Draco and Snape. "Here, watch!"

She carefully positioned the figurines at the bow, Draco's arms were outstretched and Snape looked like he had his nose planted... well use your imagination! "Draco and Snape on the Whotanic! It will be sooo romantic."

At that point, the weight of the figurines and the cardboard smokestacks proved to be too much and the unsinkable who who rolled over, submerging the figurines.

"Damnit!" exclaimed Alyx, "That keeps happening!"

Bob wiped tiredly at his face and turned to the audience. "While Alyx works out the ahem... kinks with her props I'll just say we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern and we hope you enjoy this chapter."

Stealing one last glance at his insane wife Bob walked off the stage shaking his head and wondering if he could have her committed.

"_I think that went better than usual Harry,"_ Chekiath said from the front row.

"Yeah mate it did. Kinda surprising," Harry replied.

"_Alyx's who who is much bigger than yours, maybe you could get it for May and Hermione?"_

"What?" exclaimed Harry in horror.

"_Well I understand being so tiny you can't have a sixteen foot long who who like we dragons."_

"Dragons are calling them who whos now?"

"_What else would we call them?"_

"I don't want to know. Just let us start the chapter," Harry snapped, thinking about sixteen foot long who whos and the kind of pants one would need to contain such a beast.

* * *

**Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.  
- George Bernard Shaw**

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, April 4th...**

Harry walked into his quarters from Cheki's entrance, then he headed over to the desk in the corner of the living room and flipped on the computer. Hermione frowned from her position on the couch and closed the book she had been studying. He was so preoccupied he hadn't even noticed her.

A moment later the computer chimed. "You've got mail," it said.

Harry grimaced and opened up the program to the new email from Lord Mills. He carefully read the letter detailing the threat against his life from the Russian ICW delegate.

When Hermione gasped behind him, he whirled around to face her. "Hermione? Don't do that. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he exclaimed.

Hermione tore her gaze from the monitor. "Harry, James says someone is trying to kill you!" She looked at him and he could see her fear.

He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her. "They have to get past Chekiath first, love. He's better than any armed guard the government could provide."

Hermione froze for a second at the term of endearment and Harry chuckled. "Did you know the dragons want the ability to save what they type?" he asked, trying to distract her. "Sir Robert had a company build that machine and now they have to redesign it or create something new."

Harry tapped out a reply to Lord Mills saying he'd talk with him in the morning, then turned back to Hermione.

"They want to save what they type? Like a word processor?"

He nodded, walked over to the couch and sat down. "Yeah, just like that. Also, Chekiath tells me that Comaloth says you've been using your computer to write stories that involve me," he said, then he paused and smirked at her. "Naughty stories, according to Comaloth."

Hermione paled and stared at him mutely.

"Something you want to tell me, Hermione?" he asked.

"Not really," she muttered, then she sighed. "I suppose I should have expected it. Dragon's can't keep secrets."

"Not this kind of secret they can't," he replied, then he motioned for her to sit on the couch next to him. "They don't see the point. And if it embarrasses their rider, it's a bonus. But dragons will keep a Weyr secret. To my knowledge, dragons haven't told anyone about their ability to time travel. We tell the riders, of course, because we can't afford someone making the mistake when going Between, but they've never mentioned it to a non-rider. And I know Chekiath hasn't divulged anything more."

Hermione sat on the couch, tucking her legs under her and she eyed him shrewdly. She knew Harry well enough to realize that he had just hinted at something she might not know. "What secret are you hiding now?"

He grinned. "It's not very useful, yet, but I got to thinking about how the dragons can channel the direction of the cold air when they exit from Between and I started wondering if it were possible to channel it long after they came out of Between."

"Can they?" exclaimed Hermione in shock.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but not really long enough to be useful. Chekiath can produce a blast of cold air for about five seconds, then he needs at least ten seconds before he can do it again. I suspect during that time he might not be able to jump Between either. The range is limited to under a hundred feet, so I don't think it will be very useful."

Hermione's brow furrowed. "A five second blast from one dragon would certainly chill someone, but a concentrated effect from several dragons could be very dangerous. What could you have been thinking of to consider this idea?"

In the old days she would have simply scolded him for considering something so dangerous. Now she just wanted to understand his thinking. Her tone was respectful and held no hint of reproach.

Harry looked uncomfortable and unhappy with himself. "When I attacked those tanks at Lac Logipi, I killed nine people who were probably under an imperious. I looked up the tank on the internet after we got the computers and learned that they each had a crew of three people. At the time, I didn't think. We just flamed those tanks. You saw the result of that action when we visited that Weyr."

He looked down as if ashamed. "Cold could have stopped those tanks, and maybe given those people a chance to live. I don't know. But if the dragons can channel the cold almost like they can their fire, then it's another tool they can use to protect themselves and the Weyr. I told Cheki not to tell anyone because I'm not sure it's really useful and I simply don't have the time to explore it any further. Maybe someday, but not anytime soon."

Chekiath crooned softly in his stall and Harry shot him a weak smile.

He leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. "I spent the entire afternoon dealing with the Japanese. Even with Albert Ford's help, I still got called into his meeting to clarify points and explain things that Albert doesn't fully understand; things only a rider would understand.

"It's very possible that come the November hatching, or perhaps the one next February, we'll be opening up another manned Weyr, this time in Japan. Probably Sakujima, but we'll see. And that means we'll have to go back there and perform a really in-depth survey of the old reserve. It looked like a place that could house riders, the only real difference would be instead of buying lorries, they'd need to buy a few boats to ferry riders and supplies to and from the shops on the mainland.

"And now this bit with the Russian delegate hiring someone to kill me? That's all I need."

He glanced over at her and shook his head. "Is it any wonder I've let some of my classes slip? Magic is nice, but I refuse to let it become a dividing element between us riders. I'll struggle with my normal studies and let the magical ones slip, if needed. Besides, every time you learn a new spell you usually teach it to me. Does it really matter that much if I don't take my NEWTS or OWLS until I'm older?"

He paused and hesitated slightly, "I suppose I shouldn't rely on you for that, but I find myself relying on you and May for so much these days."

Hermione watched him for a moment, then she made a decision she had been debating. What he said about magic was true. She did show him the new spells she learned and didn't mind him relying on her at all. She raised herself up on her knees and moved until she was leaning against him. "It won't always be possible, but I think from here on you should try to leave Weyr matters at the door to your house. Unless you need an opinion from May and myself, here you're just Harry," she said softly.

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. She stiffened for a second, then relaxed against him, recalling May's comments about Harry being rather affectionate when they were alone. She hadn't seen that side of him when they had been 'dating' and she wondered if it had been because she had deliberately kept him at arms length for most of that time.

"Maybe external Weyr matters, but there are some things that I'll need to know, and this will be the best time for you or May to speak to me about them. Like Heeth. Any news on how she's doing?"

"May's still with her. She's recovering and she expects she'll be released soon, but she's spending the night in the infirmary again," she told him. "She had to get several elves to reinforce the wall. The poor thing flamed the wall with every sneeze."

He smiled and held her tighter. One of his hands rose up to stroke her hair and she sighed contentedly against him. This was an image she had not pictured for herself and she found it rather appealing.

"Someday you'll have to share some of your stories with me. I might even see what we can do to make some of them come true," he whispered.

She shivered unexpectedly and grinned against his chest. She had used her computer to write some of her racier fantasies. It never occurred to her that someone might be willing to make a few of them come true. For Harry, however, it was obvious, even if it was embarrassing. He wanted to please his ladies and Hermione had basically written down ways to do that. If she would share her stories with him, he'd have some clues what to do. As far as he was concerned, her stories were the next best thing to an instruction manual.

Harry gently disengaged from her and stood, then he offered her a hand. "Stay tonight?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded, then accepted his hand and let him lead them into the bedroom.

From his stall, Chekiath watched the pair disappear. If he could have smiled, he would have. His eyes whirled with green streaks as he felt his bond widen to include Comaloth and Hermione, and just at the edges, he could also sense Trath and May listening in. Chekiath was content. The developing bond would help all three settle into their relationship. Harry was the center-point of an emotional bond that allowed each girl to feel how Harry felt about them and how they felt about him.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, April 5th...**

Hermione slipped into a seat next to May. She placed her tray on the table, then she turned to her. "I've been such a fool," she said softly.

May looked at her in surprise. "About?"

"Harry," she said ruefully.

May turned slightly in her chair and eyed the witch sitting next to her. "How so?"

Hermione blushed slightly and she dropped her gaze. "Last night I could feel him and what he felt for me via the bond. I could also feel what he felt for you. It was so... intense. It's hard to describe."

May nodded. "Now you know why I didn't fight this. He feels the same way about both of us and I knew that any fight over him would have us all losing."

Hermione nodded. "I see that now. And I also saw that he still thinks he's unworthy of either of us, let alone both."

May smiled. "That is something we'll need to work on."

"I plan on talking to Dobby today," Hermione announced.

"About?"

Hermione smiled. "I can see us sleeping in the same bed, but I think we should set up one of his spare bedrooms for use when one of us is..." she trailed off and blushed again.

May nodded. "Makes sense. I like you Hermione, but I'm not really wanting an audience. So have you and Harry...?"

"No!" Hermione said, then her blush deepened and her voice softened. "Not yet, but if last night was any example of what it's like, then soon, very soon."

May nodded. "We are very lucky women Hermione. As awkward as this may get from time to time, we need to keep that in mind. He truly loves us. Oh, he's not perfect. No one is. But I'm sure we'll be able to fix whatever problems crop up between the three of us," she replied, then she looked up and nudged her. "Here he is."

Harry entered the large hall and walked to the front of the room. Gradually, conversation ceased as people noticed him.

He smiled at everyone, then began to speak. "Good morning. I have here a message from Doctor Sheppard. He says that, assuming everything goes well, Lee Jordan will be released from hospital in three days. Due to his injuries he will be transported via military ambulance from London to the SAS base next door, then we'll transfer him to our clinic here. Issac says that Lee will be confined to the Weyr clinic for at least another two days.

"I know there are some plans floating around about a party. I'll ask whomever is planning it to talk to Issac first. If there is going to be a party to celebrate Lee coming home, I want him to be able to enjoy it, not sleep through it."

Mariah looked up and nodded. She had been talking to the others about organizing a welcome home party. If he was still recovering, then the party would need to be delayed until he was better. From his hospital bed, he'd given Mariah her birthday presents. They had been retrieved by one of the Aurors investigating the scene.

Harry looked around for a moment before spotting the person he wanted. "Abbey," he said, getting her attention. "I do not expect Lee to be flight certified for a while, possibly a month or more. Issac wants him to take it easy and fully heal. I think he's a bit uncomfortable because the healers had to regrow one of Lee's kidneys. As of now, you're acting Wing leader for Wing four. Pick someone from your wing and start training them up as your second. I want your new second able to fill your position since I intend to give you your own wing after the next impression."

He paused as the hall filled with cheers. Abbey Rhodes was a non-magical rider from the November impression that had been Wing leader of the newly impressed dragons. She was popular and very good at managing her wing. Lee was a very popular rider, but all of the riders from the November impression had been hoping Abbey would continue on as Wing Leader. It had been Harry's intent all along to let her get some experience, then move her up to the position. Now with Lee out of action, he had to fill the hole in the Wing structure earlier than anticipated.

When the hall quieted down, Harry began speaking again. "How many of you have been helping Lee with scale collection and wand crafting?"

Four people raised their hands and Harry nodded to them. "Get together after you have your breakfast and figure out who is going to do what. I understand Karen has a copy of the delivery schedule for the Jordan wands. Lee will be able to work on the wands while he recovers, but I don't want him overexerting himself.

"One final piece of good news. As most of you have learned, I met with the Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom yesterday and he was briefed on our dragons and some of their abilities. When Ambassador Itsumi left, he planned to contact the Japanese Prime Minister and press a case for the creation of a manned Weyr in Japan.

"I was also on hand to witness the Imperial Wizard offer a formal apology to Chekiath for the way the Japanese wizards have treated dragons in the past. He assured me that the Japanese Ministry of Magic is already preparing a law that will forbid harming any dragon.

"I am pleased to report that we may see a new manned Weyr as early as 1997. The Japanese also have a dementor problem that they would like our help with. I know no one likes those things, but dealing with their dementors would earn enough money for us to buy the real estate and construct a proper Weyr. If that happens, it would be the first manned Weyr constructed by dragon riders for dragon riders."

The hall erupted in cheers and Harry waved before heading over to the buffet and putting together his breakfast. With tray in hand, he quickly moved to where May and Hermione sat, stopping behind each girl to kiss the tops of their heads before sitting down. Hermione looked startled, but May just had a smug smile on her face.

"How are my girls this morning?" he asked.

"I'll be happier when Heeth is better. Have you any idea what it's like to deal with a dragon that has a cough? Poor Heeth would start coughing and every so often flame the wall. I finally mixed up a concoction of honey and four bottles of cough medicine to give her some relief," May groused.

Harry looked up from his meal in concern. "She'll be all right?"

May nodded. "Yes. She's improving and the time between coughing fits is growing longer every day. Heeth had a very painful throat and the cough was hurting her chest. Cary, on the other hand, nearly lost all her hair in one flaming cough. She doused the flames instantly with her wand, but the damage was done. Now she's got Luna and Susan looking for a potion that will speed hair growth. They remember seeing mention of a potion for it, but don't remember where they saw it."

Harry paused with a fork midway to his mouth. "Did your potion work for Heeth?"

May nodded with a smile. Harry was prone to use magical terminology, hence a mix of cough syrup and honey was suddenly a potion. "It did, although I don't think Major Atkins was happy with me for sending one of her men into town late at night to buy up all the bottles of cough medicine he could find. At that point I was at wits end and needed something to try. None of the potions seemed to help and I couldn't keep dosing her with pain relief potions."

Harry smiled. "If she complains too much, tell me. I happen to know someone who can divert her attention. In the meantime, well done with Heeth."

"Harry," May chided. "You know as well as I do that Sirius can't sway Katherine from her duty."

"I know, but until we have some riders capable of driving, we need to occasionally borrow people from Katherine. She knows that and she knows we try hard not to abuse the privilege," he replied. "Besides, Sirius will probably say something that will make her mad at him and she'll forget why she was mad at you."

May chuckled. His comment was almost spot on, only she knew that Katherine didn't really get mad at Sirius as she did get exasperated. He was one to really try a person's patience.

Satisfied that all was well with May, he turned his attention to Hermione who sat quietly smiling and blushing slightly while staring at her plate. His display of affection had caught her off guard and reminded her of the previous night's activities. They did not make love, but she had crawled into bed with the intent to test the waters as much as she could. Her first sexual encounter had scarred her and she needed to know Harry would be gentle with her.

Last night had proven that he was a very gentle and undemanding lover. She was now determined to ask Harry to help her get over that particular fear.

"All right there, Hermione?" he asked.

She looked up, startled by his question. "I'm fine. Never better, in fact," she stammered.

"I think she's still distracted from last night," May said with a wicked laugh. Given their situation, May found it refreshing that she could finally be rather open about certain things.

Harry glanced over to her, then matched Hermione in her blush. "Oh," he mumbled, unsure how to respond to that.

May laughed again, causing Hermione to laugh softly. Harry's reaction was so typical of the boy she'd grown up with.

"Can I get serious for a moment?" May asked.

When Harry opened his mouth, Hermione reached over and covered it with her hand. She glared at May. "You know he pulls that serious joke almost as much as Sirius does."

Harry frowned behind her hand and gently pulled her hand away. "I don't use it _that_ often, and of course you can get serious May."

"Good. Can you use your magic stick to expand the dragon area in your house? Big enough to fit Trath and Comaloth?" she asked.

Harry leaned back on his seat and nodded slowly. "I think I can. It's just an expansion charm. I might have to ask Moony to help guide me through it. Why?"

May shook her head. It still amazed him how clueless he could be sometimes. "Harry," she said gently, "except for the times that I need to spend the nights in the infirmary, I've spent nearly every night at your house. Trath has had to sleep in an empty house or on your roof. It's time Trath and I move in. Hermione feels the same. This weekend, Hermione and I are going to work on moving our stuff in. There's no sense in keeping separate houses."

Harry looked up at Hermione who nodded firmly at him.

"All right, I'll speak to Remus about learning the expansion charm," he said. "We'll also need to expand the walk in closet and the dresser drawers. Maybe we should look at this carefully. You each have a computer and small study area now. We need to include that, as well."

"Harry, you have four bedrooms. We can easily turn one into a study that we can all share," Hermione countered. "I'll talk to Susan about getting the desks moved. She'll also let the computer people know we're moving the computers. She's already alerted them about Millicent."

"Milli?" asked Harry.

May smiled. "Bob Malwich and Sammy Hinerman are moving into her house and they have fewer bedrooms than we do," she said.

Harry frowned. "Maybe they should switch to one of the large homes?"

"Don't worry about them. Right now, they're exactly where they want to be. We can readdress the housing issue when we start having kids, but that's years away," May said. "If they need something, I'm sure they'll ask."

Hermione looked up at May with narrowing eyes, then she saw Harry staring at his plate. She knew he wanted a family, and she knew he felt he didn't deserve one. She had spoken to May several times about their relationship with Harry and this was the first time she seriously considered the idea of children.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the conversation. "Children would be nice, but I promised Mum I wouldn't make her a grandmother until she turned at least forty five. That's still nearly seven years from now," she added softly, then she smiled a bit wickedly, "I don't think she'll complain too much if we're early by a year or two."

May smiled at her. "That's a good time. We should be done with school by then and firmly in our jobs."

"If you're done embarrassing my godson, James, Katherine and I want to talk to him about this death threat warning from the Prime Minister's office," Sirius said behind them.

Harry stood. "Excellent! Let's do that right now," he blurted and then he grabbed Sirius and steered him away from the table.

"Death threat?" May exclaimed. "What the hell's going on?"

Hermione nodded, then explained the warning he had received. While May learned of the threat against Harry, Harry learned of the limitations being placed on him by well meaning friends and a concerned host government. He had planned on refusing, but the Queen had personally requested that he accept the security.

**ICW Headquarters, Paris, France, April 15th...**

Albus Dumbledore entered the office and waited patiently for Yoshi to spot him from his desk. After a minute, he coughed and the Imperial wizard glanced up and smiled. "Albus-san! I did not hear you come in. How are you?"

"Well enough, Yoshi," replied Dumbledore. He moved to take a seat next to Yoshi's desk. "I'm sorry I missed out on your visit to the Weyr, but we had some problems crop up."

Yoshi eyed Dumbledore carefully. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Carlos the Gerbil being seen in Diagon Alley in the middle of a shoot out?"

Dumbledore sighed. He wasn't surprised that Yoshi knew what was going on. The man seemed to have an uncanny ability to figure out what was happening elsewhere. Albus would have been shocked to discover that his friend had succeed in a mind split and was always actively analyzing things even when he appeared to be engaged in purely social activities.

"Alas, I fear our troubles are not yet completely over. Fortunately, our new ministry is making inroads in places that the old one never considered and the people are starting to support those changes," Albus replied. "As to Carlos, he has latched onto a group of malcontents and is capitalizing on their willingness to do mischief. He could have popped up in any country and found the same. It is our misfortune that he chose Britain."

Yoshi nodded. He knew the story. Carlos had slipped into the country during the unrest, when law enforcement was at an all time low, and now was taking advantage of the very fringes of wizarding society. The bulk of the wizards were starting to see improvements in their lives. It wasn't much, a little here, a little there, but they were definite improvements which was causing the public opinion to swing in favor of the new administration. Parents of pre-Hogwarts age children were leading the charge to support the new ministry, having been relieved of the burden of home schooling.

"I am sure your ministry will prevail," Yoshi offered. "As to my visit to your Weyr, I found it most enlightening. My Prime Minister is very excited about the possibility of having our own Weyr. And your Weyrleader is a most unusual young man. I expect Ambassador Itsumi will open formal talks for establishing a Weyr soon."

Albus smiled, "He is at that. I never would have guessed how far he would go when he first entered my school. I heard that the Weyr has authorized a shipment of dragon scale wand cores to Japan."

Yoshi nodded. "It is much needed, my friend. Our wand crafters were hard pressed to keep up with demand and missing one of the core materials made it very hard on them to keep up."

Albus leaned back on his chair. "So, tell me about our Italian and Greek friends," he said.

Yoshi frowned. "We have two of the most obstinate people leading their negotiating teams. Signor Franco Iacobelli is a former enchanter who started working for the Wizard Power Party some twenty years ago. He is a stubborn man who firmly believes in wizard superiority and their right to rule.

"Stavros Mestas leads the Greek group. He is more moderate than his Italian counterpart and I feel he would easily give in, were it not for the fear the Greeks have about appearing to be vulnerable to the Italians. You read the files on both negotiating parties, yes?"

Albus nodded. "I did and thank you. It was most helpful."

Albus looked down for a moment and Yoshi leaned forward. He knew Dumbledore's look. The man was a genius in his own right and Yoshi had seen Dumbledore do this in the past. He would seem to drop all external awareness while he considered possibilities. Yoshi sat back and waited in respectful silence. The two men were more alike than they realized. While Yoshi mastered the mind split, Dumbledore achieved a similar effect by shutting down while he considered a problem carefully.

Yoshi suspected that Dumbledore's technique might be superior to his own simply because while he processed information he used more of his mind to do it than Yoshi did. There were pluses and minuses to both methods and someday he hoped to write a book about both techniques. There were few books aimed directly at mages and he hoped to add to that exclusive list.

After a good five minutes, Albus blinked and looked up. "I believe Mister Mestas is the key piece of the puzzle, Yoshi. I think the trick will be to find a way to assuage his fear, perhaps by guaranteeing the safety of Greece."

Yoshi's eyebrows rose to nearly touch his hairline.

"Tell me, old friend, do you think Signor Iacobelli might be harboring the same fear, but hides it better?" asked Albus.

Yoshi scratched his chin and thought about that. "It is possible," he admitted. "But both countries decimated their defense forces in the battle on the Island of Othonoi. They are rushing to assemble new forces, but so far they haven't been very successful recruiting people. Any recent attacks have been reduced to very small raids or using subterfuge and sabotage to cause havoc. Unfortunately, neither country has given up control of their ward stones so we can't block traffic between them yet. I was working on a plan to do just that."

Albus smiled. "Then let's look at this as pieces of a puzzle to assemble. First, if we could offer a guarantee of safety for both countries. Do you think we could get them to agree to a cease fire?"

"How would you offer such a guarantee?" countered Yoshi.

"The muggle United Nations often resorts to using a multinational force for peace keeping. Since the two countries do not share a national border, all we need to is provide a patrolled buffer zone between them to prevent the two sides from intermingling. If we could get twenty member nations from the ICW to provide one hundred fighters a piece, said force would patrol the buffer between the two countries, keeping them apart and stopping any conflict that might arise. That should allow tempers to relax and give us time to get them talking about a true, lasting peace, as well as handing the countries back to the muggle control."

Yoshi leaned forward in his seat and pulled out some parchment. "This has possibilities, Albus-san! I am certain Mestas would be willing to listen to such a proposal. But first we must find out if member nations would be willing to contribute to such a force."

Albus nodded. "Yes, but since I brought it up, I suppose it falls to me to start the ball rolling. I cannot speak for Her Majesty's government, but I believe Prime Minister Major would be willing to help secure the peace. Do you wish for me to broach the subject with the Supreme Mugwump?"

Yoshi nodded. "I daresay my own government would be willing, as well. But I wonder if Wizards alone might not be enough. Would the Weyr help?"

Albus blinked and looked at his friend thoughtfully. "Perhaps. The Weyr does not wish to get involved in any combat, but certainly we can ask if they would be willing to give warning of any problems along the border. We can only ask. What about blocking access?"

Yoshi looked unhappy. "We'll need to put our own ward stones in place, probably in the Adriatic sea to block portkeys and apparating. You know as well as I do that it's going to take time. We'll need hundreds of stones. Mugwump Stebbins is aware of the problem and is working to secure funding to order the stones."

Albus nodded unhappily, then he pulled out his version of Harry's to do list and scribbled a note with a gold plated fountain pen that Harry had given him for Christmas. Albus had been astounded by the small pen that acted so much like a quill. He carried it everywhere, clipping it to the side of his wand holster.

He found the little plastic ink cartridges fascinating and wasted four of them the first day he had the pen just playing with the cartridges.

**#10 Downing Street, London, April 17th...**

Harry heaved a sigh of relief as the two Diplomatic Protection group bodyguards fell behind to remain in the outer office. He smiled to the secretary who smiled back at the teen. She knew his story finally and found it amusing that the young man was being thrust onto the world stage in a manner like no other.

The two men from the DPG group relaxed knowing that Harry was protected in this building. There was a full squad of heavily armed men just sitting around waiting to be called if needed. Until the British government knew otherwise, Harry would have two officers from the DPG as bodyguards whenever he was not in close proximity to his dragon.

That meant any trips to the town of Campbeltown or into London required bodyguards. Four men were now being housed at the Weyr for that purpose. At first, the DPG wanted to be with Harry all the time. Fortunately, James pulled the DPG team leader aside and explained dragons to the man.

Harry had explained their presence to his wing leaders as something the British government normally did for certain individuals. May and Hermione knew of the threat, so did most of the adults, but Harry didn't want the riders to know about what could turn out to be a false alarm.

Chekiath knew, of course, and he followed Harry nearly everywhere but Harry was used to that. What he wasn't used to was that now Trath and Comaloth were following along when they weren't busy with their riders. Chekiath told him that as his consorts, it was only right that they should be close by, but Harry suspected both girls of telling their dragons to keep an eye on him.

Harry had wanted to fly down to London on Chekiath, but with James and Sir Robert coming along, a helicopter was sent to pick them up at the Weyr. He had been shocked to discover two DPG men waiting for him when he arrived at the heliport. And for the first time the car they used to travel from the heliport to ten Downing street had a police escort.

John Major waved the group in. "Take a seat, gentlemen. We're still waiting on Mr. Dumbledore and Sir William."

Harry sat and breathed another sigh of relief.

Major eyed Harry and smiled. "I know that having someone follow you around is rather burdensome, Weyrleader, but to be honest, it is in our nation's interests that we ensure nothing happen to you."

Harry nodded. "I understand, sir, but it does make dating an unusual experience."

Sir Robert cackled with laughter. "Like you need worry about that, my boy. Your dragon picked out his mates and dragged you along for the ride."

Major looked over at Sir Robert. who suddenly realized he had said something that might be embarrassing to the Weyrleader. Harry grimaced and shrugged. "You might as well tell him, Sir Robert. It would be better if he finds out now than to see it in some newspaper."

Sir Robert nodded unhappily. He turned to the Prime Minister. "We are starting to see what kind of relationships the dragons will have and how they affect their riders. Dragons do not mate like we humans do. Chekiath, for example, could have chosen a dozen consorts and still mated with other dragons."

"What's the difference?" asked Major.

"A consort will bear eggs, offspring. A dragon will mate with another simply because they feel like it, but consorts are a different issue. A dragon will have a consort that will have their offspring, and once chosen, a consort is for life," Harry said quietly. "It's a uni-sexual thing though. A larger female can opt to have multiple, smaller male consorts."

Sir Robert nodded. "It could be you're right, Harry. We'll need more data before we can be certain. And as the largest of the dragons, Chekiath could have commanded a dozen consorts. The dragons are like humans in as much as they view sex as both a form of recreation and for procreation."

"_That would have confused Harry. I don't need more than two consorts,"_ Chekiath announced and Harry chuckled.

"I might have taken a helicopter down to London, but Chekiath wasn't about to stay behind," he said quietly, then he pointed up towards the ceiling.

John Major grinned. He had seen the dragon bond in action before and it always amazed him how strong it was. "Go on, Sir Robert."

Sir Robert shook from his surprise. "Well, in Harry's case, his dragon settled on two consorts, leaving Harry to deal with two different girls. We're also seeing another grouping that mixes two boys and a single girl plus there are indications of other possible pairings."

"Sir Robert," Harry said softly, "you're giving the wrong impression."

Sir Robert turned to Harry, "Oh?"

Harry nodded and turned back to the Prime Minister. "I don't want anyone to think this is some kind of crazy teen sex thing going on, because it hasn't been. Millicent and her boyfriends actually had it easier than we have. May, Hermione and I have spent many hours talking about this and trying to determine exactly what we have. It has been emotionally draining and difficult. If it weren't for the dragons, it wouldn't have happened at all."

Major nodded. "I trust you will be discrete."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied fervently.

"Very well. For what its worth, Weyrleader, I don't envy you. One woman is a handful, two must drive you to distraction," Major said with a small smile. "I take it that Sir Robert was alluding to the fact that dating isn't really necessary once the dragons have made their choices?"

Harry nodded and James jumped in. "For the most part the dragons and the riders influence each other when selecting a consort. So there won't be a case of a dragon insisting on someone that the rider can't stand. I suppose it simplifies matters. Harry may still want to go out with the girls, but it wouldn't be fair to call it a true date. I can't see him dating anyone else, however."

Harry glanced at James curiously and James smiled. "Lad, you've fancied both girls as long as I've known you. Your dragon knew that, probably before you were even aware of it."

Major motioned to speak, but the door opened and Dumbledore entered, followed by Sir William O'Hearny.

"Ah, good. Gentlemen, take a seat and we'll start," Major said, putting an end to that topic.

Albus nodded amiably to Harry, then sat in a plush armchair facing the couch.

John Major left his desk and moved to sit in another chair. "Albus, let's start with you please. How did your trip to Paris go?"

"Productive, I think," Albus said happily. "It seems both sides would like to stop fighting but are afraid to appear weak in front of the other. I have secured agreements from the American, French, German and Polish ministries to send a force of one hundred fighters to patrol a zone between the two countries and keep the two side from intermingling. I had hoped we would also participate in such a force," he added, looking at the Prime Minister hopefully.

Major frowned. "A force of one hundred soldiers isn't very large," he said dubiously. Usually, when the UN asked for troops, they needed hundreds of men and machines.

"No, sir, one hundred of your mixed wizards and soldiers. Preferably more wizard than soldier. Between an international group patrolling the zone between them and an effort to actually close the borders, both countries will be willing come to the table. We still have to close the borders between the two countries, but if we can manage these two things, they are willing cease hostilities and participate in peace talks, which will also include a plan to return the control to the muggles," Albus said, then quickly added. "The ICW is also wondering if the dragons might provide an early warning along the patrolled zone."

Harry frowned and shook his head. "I am reluctant to allow any dragons to get embroiled in a wizard war, Albus. I've been speaking with my riders and select others and it is the general feeling that the Weyr is willing to help with any humanitarian endeavor, but on the whole, we should try to maintain strict neutrality. The HMS Orkney was a humanitarian endeavor, even if she was a military ship, and I can easily see us repeating that sort of thing in the future. Patrolling two hostile nations to keep them apart, however, is a different issue. It places the Weyr into a military role which we will fill only with great reluctance."

Albus nodded slowly. He had figured Harry would answer like this, but he had promised he would ask. "Well then, there still is the issue of whether or not we'll get involved," he said, looking at the Prime Minister.

Major leaned back and thought about it. The newly commissioned 24th regiment of the special air service was a mixed unit, created by MOD after the take over of the Ministry of Magic. It was an oversized unit and could probably spare one hundred men for border patrol. Finally, he nodded. "Very well. I shall discuss the issue with Lord Kennewick at my mid morning meeting with him tomorrow. But rest assured, her Majesty's government will do its utmost to see peace restored and control returned to where it belongs. On behalf of Her Majesty, you have her thanks and the thanks of her government, Albus. Please keep on top of this and keep me informed of any developments."

Albus nodded and leaned back on his chair, satisfied. He would freely admit that working with the muggle government was turning out to be very refreshing after nearly a century of the obstructionist Ministry of Magic.

Major turned to Harry with a serious expression. "Weyrleader, for what it's worth, I think that the issue of neutrality is the right decision for the Weyrs. There may come a day when neutrality isn't possible, but if you can maintain it as long as possible, then you should do so."

"The next item on my list," Major said, "is the issue of the threat against the Weyrleader. MI5 has been informed about it and we are watching all access points, magical and regular, for possible problems. Unfortunately, the warning came with no real time reference. We have no idea if someone has been hired or not. We are watching this carefully and we've alerted several other national organizations who have promised to look into it within their territory."

Harry sunk lower in his chair and Major smiled soothingly at him. "I know it's a pain, Weyrleader, but I think it's a wise precaution. At least most of the time you have your dragon watching your back. I have someone around all the time."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied.

"Well, we will reevaluate this issue in a month and see if there is continued cause for concern. For now, all informed ministries will continue to monitor the situation and evaluate any intelligence that might be useful. Weyrleader, I cannot stress this sharply enough, but your safety is of national interest to us and to your Weyr. I do hope you'll continue to cooperate with your bodyguards for your own good."

Harry nodded and James placed a hand on his shoulder in support. James knew Harry didn't have much time for himself as it stood and now this threat ate into what little privacy he had remaining.

Major consulted his list again, then he looked up. "Sir William, what can you tell us about the attack in Diagon alley which injured a dragon rider?"

Sir William opened a file folder. "According to the pensieve testimony provided by Soranth via Lee Jordan..."

"Eh? How does that work? What is a pensieve?" exclaimed Major.

Albus straightened in his chair. "A pensieve is a device that allows us to review someone's memory. Basically, a wizard recalls a certain time and then using their wand, they can extract the memory from their mind and put it into a bowl like device that allows other people to view what they experienced.

"In the case of Lee Jordan, he didn't remember the attack at all, but his dragon did and his dragon shared the memory with Lee, who in turn provided it for viewing in the pensieve. The old Ministry would never admit a pensieve memory as evidence, despite the fact that tampered memories are very easy to detect. I feel it was another case of them wanting to protect the older, powerful families by denying a valuable tool to the law enforcement departments."

Major nodded slowly. "And now?"

"Our Department of Revision is working up a set of evidence handling rules so that pensieve testimonies will be admissible in Her Majesty's courts," Sir William replied.

Major nodded slowly, then motioned for Sir William to continue.

"Yes well, given the pensieve testimony, we have identified the unknown man on the steps of Gringotts as Carlos the Gerbil," he said with a straight face.

Harry snickered, then looked down in embarrassment.

Major smiled at him and barely suppressed a laugh himself.

Sir William plowed on, ignoring the smiles of amusement. "We now think that the hit was put out on Carlos. Whether it's related to what he's been doing here or not is unknown. Certainly, Carlos has his share of enemies. On the other hand, a few days before the attack, a body was found that has been identified as Tobias Bunniford, the leader of the group that originally brought Carlos into their fold. Unfortunately, we were unable to determine the cause of death."

"So, no one is running that group anymore?" exclaimed Harry. He was wondering if he could pull back the dragons from guarding the schools.

Sir William shook his head. "I'm afraid that Bunniford was a victim of his own cleverness, Weyrleader. Near as we can tell, he was replaced by Carlos himself."

"I guess we have to keep the dragons at the schools then," Harry replied mostly to himself.

Sir William nodded. "Yes. Please, Weyrleader, the presence of the dragons was a public fact and still it caught Bunniford's group by surprise. I am very glad they are there. They stopped one attack and possibly prevented others."

Harry leaned back and pulled out his list and made a notation. By the time he was done, he had missed some of Sir William's comments.

"... continues. Thus far, the group is still very small and any possible support has been waning quickly among the wizards. One area that we have been rather successful in is bringing the general population over to support us. Many of the parents who had pre-Hogwarts age children were unaware of the schooling available in this country. Once they realized that we were willing to school the children, they quickly came around because it freed up a parent to add another income to the household."

Major nodded. Overall he was rather pleased. The group of malcontents might have competent leadership, but they lacked popular support and without that they would remain little more than a terrorist organization. And if there was one thing the British government knew how to deal with, it was terrorists.

Major glanced down at his list. "All right, the final item for today's meeting is a simple one. In consultation with Her Majesty, it was felt that sometime during this coming summer we would begin the process of making the world aware of the Weyr."

Harry looked up and swallowed nervously. He'd hoped he'd have more time, like early September.

Major smiled. "Relax, Weyrleader. We have no plans on throwing you to the wolves, as it were. Instead, my office is sending out invitations to certain heads of state, starting in June. By the end of that month, most of our allies will have been fully briefed by our Ambassadors on dragons and the hot rocks. Starting late July, we'll open the Weyr up to select members of the press who are known to be friendly to the government. They won't have permission to announce the dragons until we hold a joint press conference at the end of the month. At that point, Her Majesty and I, along with most of the royal family, shall be on hand to formally introduce the Weyr to the world.

"Your Major Atkins is having her force increased, and our new 24th SAS regiment will be fully stationed in the new facility next to Campbeltown by then. While they won't normally enter the Weyr, Major Atkins will have authority to tap their resources should security become an issue. We have also contacted a contractor to work on building up security outside the Weyr. They'll be installing anti-car bomb measures, spike strips, that sort of thing. That work will be covered as we continue to work on building the SAS facility next door. Nominally, the new SAS regiment will be providing security for the research facility."

Major looked around the room, his expression stern. "Let's make no mistake about this. Going public with the Weyr is going to be a difficult issue. The Weyr location will not be officially disclosed, but people will figure it out easily enough. When they do, we have to make sure we're alert and ready to put out any fires that might appear before they become major issues."

Harry nodded. While Major had been speaking, his hand was flying as he added items to his list, things to do to prepare the Weyr for the big announcement.

The room fell silent while Harry scribbled his notes, then he noticed no one was talking and he looked up in surprise.

"All right there, Harry?" asked James, trying to suppress a grin.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I was just thinking of all the things we need to do before then. Hangar two needs to be cleaned, and I don't remember when the last time anyone actually swept the walk in front of the Administration building. Several buildings need to be painted, and we need to fix the plumbing to Hangar six again. Mariah said she wanted to fix some problems with the girl's uniforms. Plus I have to get all the riders together to talk about what we can and can't talk about. And then..."

James started laughing, then he looked over to Major, who was smiling. The Prime Minister had been afraid that Harry wasn't listening to him when in fact he was listening very carefully, while listing all the things they needed to accomplish between now and then.

Harry glanced down at his notes, then flushed slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to appear to be ignoring you. I know it was rude, but I needed to write this down or I'd forget it."

"Lad," Prime Minister Major said, "if keeping a list of things you need to do helps, then it's a great habit to maintain. I keep a list myself, although I daresay my list isn't as comprehensive as yours."

Harry glanced down at his book. Remus had shown him how to charm the book to be never ending, and how to protect it. It was one of the ways the adult wizards around him helped him learn. They would show him a spell, but wouldn't perform it for him.

"So we're looking at what? July 30th?" Harry asked.

Major smiled thinly. "Her Majesty felt that July 31st would be an appropriate date for both a birthday celebration and a celebration of discovery that we are no longer the only intelligent species on the planet."

Harry winced inwardly and James clapped a hand on his shoulder. The older man knew Harry was uncomfortable with people making a fuss about him.

"Excellent timing," added Sir Robert with a huge smile for Harry, then he turned to Major. "I expect to have the test power plant operational sometime in late June, or early July at the latest. That will give us another touring point to show the press."

Major nodded in satisfaction. That was good news indeed.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, April 17th...**

Harry walked to his quarters with May on his right, and Hermione on his left. "That was a long meeting," May said softly.

"It was, but we got a lot done. I just wish we could settle things down. Just when it seems like we're settling into a routine, something changes," Harry said in reply.

"That may be true, but it won't always be like that," Hermione added. "We have roughly three months and a little extra to make the Weyr sparkle. Cleaning up is one thing, and we have the elves helping for that."

May nodded. "I never expected Susan Bones of all people to suggest that our families be here for the big reveal, or that we rent or buy seating for so many people."

"Susan surprised most of us wizards tonight. She's been studying hard trying to maintain the Weyr. I think she shocked us when she suggesting renting the seating. A wizard would have conjured seats until they dropped from exhaustion. In fact, the only thing that wasn't a surprise was your complaint about the day that was chosen by the Queen," added Hermione.

In the gathering dusk both girls could see Harry frowning.

"Harry," May said gently, "only you seem to think that your birthday is something best forgotten. Your dragon doesn't agree, your Weyr doesn't agree and the two women that love you don't agree."

Harry skidded to a halt and stared at her with a shocked look, then he glanced over at Hermione, who echoed May's determined expression.

"Harry," May said in a harsh tone, "do you think Hermione or I would go out with a loser? Or have children with such?"

He shook his head. They were too smart for that.

She stepped closer to Harry and touched his cheek, "Then believe in yourself like we do."

"She's right, Harry. I know it's hard, thanks to your aunt and uncle, but if you can't believe in yourself, then believe that we know your worth it," Hermione added.

"_Listen to your mates, Harry. They love you almost as much as I do,"_ Chekiath added.

Harry looked down and fought against the rush of emotion that swept through him. No one had ever considered him worth anything before. He wanted to wipe away the tears that threatened to fill his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Hermione reached out and took his hand in hers, a moment later May took his other hand and together they resumed their walk to his quarters.

It had been a very long day. After returning from the PM's office, Harry had called for an all hands meeting of the Weyr and they spent near another six hours discussing what needed to be done. Harry had handed out jobs like candy and his list of things to do expanded by over a full page of items.

Susan Bones had been put in charge of the physical Weyr, here and at Disko island. She already had that position from earlier, but Harry told her that they were relying on her to make the Weyr sparkle. She was told to find enough people from the Wings to assist her, as well as using the elves.

Lee found that, even without being capable for flight, he had picked up the Weyr Public Affairs office with Mariah as his second. Lisa Turpin was asked to continue training as Weyr healer and told that if she wanted, the Weyr would happily fund her going to a mundane medical school. Issac mentioned that he could sign her up for emergency first aid courses that would increase her ability to help in the clinic.

Magical medicine, however, would have to be done on her own, since they couldn't figure out a way around the apprentice system used by magical healers.

Millicent Bulstrode and Wayne Hopkins were asked to put together an office to monitor all of the scientific research being performed, both here and at Condron. They were tasked with preparing a report each month to the Weyr council on the state of the research and it's applications.

In fact, by the time the meeting was over, six long hours later, the Weyr had been completely reorganized. The wings had remained fairly untouched, but jobs had been handed out as people threw out ideas of what could be done during this event.

The other critical discussion concerned the private lives of the riders and magic. Both topics were off limits and Harry made it painfully clear that anyone violating that rule would end up painting the new fence with their toothbrush.

The meeting excited and galvanized the Weyr. Many of the normal riders were looking forward to the freedom that going public would provide them. As May put it, she'd like to be able to go home for Sunday dinner with her family once in a while and not have to worry about someone seeing them. It was a sentiment that a lot of the normal riders had and one Harry could sympathize with. After May spoke up and several echoed her comments, Harry promised that he would do his best to see that it happened.

Privately, he wondered if his mundane riders would discover the same thing as his magical riders. There was no going back for all of them. Their families would still be their families, but friends and old school mates would have no common frame of reference with the riders. Harry would work to enable them to discover that for themselves. It was all he could do.

Mariah stood up and flatly told everyone present that if Harry promised it, she knew he'd deliver it. That ended the meeting on a high note, with the riders eager to work very hard for the next three months because they knew their Weyrleader would be there right alongside them.

Harry stepped into the house and immediately kicked off his shoes and sighed in relief. Dobby appeared and removed the shoes, depositing Harry's slippers in their place. "Dobby, there are days I don't know what I'd do without you," he said, slipping his feet into his slippers.

Both girls exchanged a smile. This was a habit of his that basically signaled that Harry was off duty. There were nights when he was taking one of the night shift patrols and he would then go to his desk to study or work on Weyr business while he waited for the time for him to leave.

Harry walked over to the couch and sat down. "I know there was a lot to discuss today, but there's still one more issue."

May poured herself a cup of tea from a pot that Dobby kept always ready. "Oh?" she sat in a chair across the coffee table. Hermione moved to sit on the couch.

"What issue?" asked Hermione.

"I asked Sirius, just in case mind you, but I had to be sure. He said it wasn't possible, then he said to talk to the Irish. Seems they have some druids that don't care. The problem is it's still not legal or anything," Harry blurted.

"Goodness, Harry, what are you talking about?" exclaimed Hermione.

"Marriage," he whispered.

Hermione and May stared at him for a moment, then looked at each other, astounded by his answer.

"Harry," Hermione said softly. She wanted him to explain. It was a topic that she was coming to think would be impossible for her. "Take a deep breath, then start at the beginning."

Harry looked at her, then glanced at May, who wore the same, extremely interested, look. "I got to thinking. Chekiath has taken Trath and Comaloth as consorts. It's like they're married, right?"

He paused and looked at the girls who conceded the point. "Well, I know the muggles don't allow a guy to marry two girls, so I asked Sirius about the wizards, but they don't allow it either. The closest thing they have is unacceptable in my mind. Both the concubine and mistress bonds are cruelly restrictive and demeaning to women and I won't allow either of you to undergo that. Then Sirius said that the only thing that could possibly work would be to find a druid priest or priestess. They have a handfasting ceremony which they perform. No one recognizes it, but it would be a match of equals."

Hermione leaned back and eyed him carefully. "I see you've thought about this, but you haven't said why this is important. I don't think May has been pressing for marriage and I know I haven't. So why are you?"

Harry winced and May shot Hermione a warning look. "I just thought it would be something you girls would want. Isn't that what people who love each other do? And it would mean any kids would be Potters. I'm sorry if I was presuming."

He looked down at his lap and Hermione moved closer to him. "Harry, I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but I think even May will admit this is a surprise to us. I was figuring we'd never do something like this."

"Even with this service, it's still illegal," May offered.

Harry looked up. "It is, but it wouldn't be illegal where it counts," he said, thumping his chest. "I want us to be one family."

"One of us could marry you," May said softly.

"No," exclaimed Harry. "That wouldn't be fair to the one that I couldn't marry. At least this way we could have a ghostly marriage."

Hermione frowned for a moment, then she laughed softly. She looked over to May, "He means spiritual," she said.

Harry nodded and flushed at the wrong word. May's confusion vanished and she nodded. "So what your suggesting is a service that no one will recognize legally but it is more for ourselves than for anyone else," May offered, then she paused and spoke a little more clearly. "And I suppose if one of us pushed for a formal marriage you'd refuse?"

"I would," Harry said firmly. "It wouldn't be fair to the other one."

"Hermione, do you know anything about these druids he's talking about?" May asked.

Hermione frowned. "Not much. There's a small but significant minority of people in Ireland that claim to be druids. Their faith is fairly straightforward. There is a Goddess who is the mother of all creation and a pantheon of other deities. It's very benign and tolerant for a religion. I admit I haven't looked at it very closely. I was brought up Catholic."

"Church of Scotland here," May said.

Harry shrugged. "The Dursley's went to church but I don't know what type and they never took me along. I don't even know what religion my parents followed. Honestly at this point I'm not sure about any religion."

Both girls frowned at his comment.

"Well, that's a conversation for another time," Hermione declared. The fact that Harry seemed to be uninterested in religion bothered her only because it was a reflection on his childhood and the lack of a caring environment. "I'll look into the Druids, but I personally don't see a problem with their service. Any mainstream religion is going to demand to see a marriage license before performing a service."

All three fell silent considering what Harry had brought up.

Harry felt like he might have overstepped himself by bringing the topic up. It was time, he felt, for him to make a hasty retreat. He stood. "I'm going to go take a bath. All this talking today has left me all tense. A hot soak will help with that."

After he left the room, May turned to look at Hermione. "That was abrupt."

She nodded. "He's uncomfortable," she explained. "No doubt you've noted he gets fidgety when talking about his feelings. I think he feels like he may have made a mistake bringing up the topic of marriage and now he's worried we'll be angry with him. He may even think we're angry because he presumed we'd be interested in a marriage with him."

May sank deeper into her chair. "Well, it was a surprise. I'm going on sixteen. I never imagined marrying this early."

"You also never imagined being bonded to a sixty foot long dragon who's decided who her mate will be for life," Hermione replied dryly.

"Touche," replied May. "I didn't. None of us did."

"Our problem, May, is that we keep forgetting Harry the Weyrleader. We've seen him look at an issue and immediately jump to the natural conclusion of that issue, then look at how to accomplish it. He just applied the same ability to his personal life."

"But marriage?" May countered.

Hermione shrugged and looked at her. "It is a natural result of being in love with someone. That there are three of us only complicates it, but it doesn't remove the result. He wants his children to be Potters and he wants us to be Potters. The one thing Harry wants above all other things is a family that loves him. His parents are gone, his family is gone. So, in his mind, that means he'll have to build one from scratch. This solution he found might be the only acceptable way, or there may be others, but the simple fact is, like he said, it's illegal in most western countries.

"Even with our autonomy we can't simply declare it legal in the Weyr. We're still answerable to British law, for the most part."

Hermione paused and frowned again. "I think this is going to become a big issue for the Weyr. Right now there is just one other triple in the Weyr, but it looks like there will be others," she said with a shake of her head, then she pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Keeping track of children and making sure that they don't mate with the wrong people is going to be a nightmare. Harry may need to start keeping records of dragon and human breeding just so we can avoid any problems."

"But marriage?" protested May again. "I want him, Hermione, and it appeals to me, but I'm not even sixteen."

Hermione smiled. "You'll note that Harry didn't mention any sort of time frame. If I know him, he's thinking about what will happen in a few years. The only way it would happen sooner is if one of us got pregnant. I think I know him well enough to know he would insist on it then."

May smiled at the thought. Pregnancy wasn't an option, now that all of the girls were using a potion approved by St. Mungo's. Doctor Sheppard was the one who pointed out that the potion had been tested by normal women and squibs who had married wizards and it was known to be effective against unwanted pregnancies for up to a full year. When the girls heard that, they all wanted a dose.

May relaxed a little, then she looked at Hermione with a concerned expression. "Do you really think he believes we're mad at him?"

"Knowing Harry, very likely. I think that deep down he still thinks he isn't good enough to love. Unfortunately, he caught us by surprise and our reaction wasn't exactly encouraging," Hermione said, gazing towards the bedroom and it's attached bath. She was unsure of what to do about it.

May leaned forward in her chair. "Sometimes I swear he isn't the only one who is dense about love," she said pointedly, then she shook her head. "Why are you holding yourself back? You want him as much as I do. The simplest way to get past this point is for one of us to go join him in the bath. So go, join him tonight and stop fighting it."

She glanced at the wall clock. "It's half past nine now. I have an exam tomorrow that I need to study for. Go to him and stop holding yourself back. Just remember to do that silencing thingie on the bedroom and be dressed or at least mostly dressed by midnight. I may be willing forgo having him tonight, but I like his warmth at night."

Hermione stared at her in astonishment, then she slowly stood and squared her shoulders like she was bolstering her courage. "I will," she said firmly. She knew Harry would be a gentle lover, it was time.

She walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. May laughed softly, then stood and walked over to her bag of books in the corner and picked up the bag.

"_They are both stubborn people,"_ Trath said gently, _"but I think you did the right thing. She needed a push."_

May nodded. "I know, but tomorrow night he's mine." She smiled at the thought and hoped that between them, they didn't wear Harry out. She was certain Hermione was about to discover that reading in bed was now her second favorite bedtime pastime.

"_And now we are complete,"_ Chekiath added. _"I don't understand this marriage thing. But I do understand that Harry suggested it because he felt it would make both of you happy. He wants very much to make you both happy."_

May smiled and sat down on the couch, then pulled a book from her bag. "I know Cheki, but he makes me happy even without that. I was just surprised he brought it up," she replied, then she made a mental note to remind Harry that he needed to enlarge the stall to allow for the other two dragons. Right now they were sleeping on the roof of the house.

May opened her book and started to read. If she could pass this particular test, she would qualify for the first of a series of advanced biology courses that would mark the start of her journey to become a true Weyrhealer.

**The Wand and the Dagger, Knockturn Alley, April 20th ...**

Carlos slowly paced in the sitting room of the rented suite. "Three of them, Alberto?" he asked.

"Si, signor," replied the burly Alberto. He had been tasked with watching one of the cells run an operation that would have allowed them to steal a large amount of gold bullion from the muggles, but the aurors had turned up just moments after the robbery began and quickly captured three of the five man team. The only good news was the fact that the team leader wasn't among the captured.

Carlos had money, but it was money that could have been ultimately traced back to his employers. Stealing the gold would have give the group a source of money that couldn't be traced to anything but a robbery.

Carlos turned to Anna. "Well? What do those finely honed instincts of yours tell you?"

Anna leaned back on the day bed and watched him for a moment longer. "We have a spy in the organization. Either Smith has betrayed us, or someone else has. Who knew of his mission? This was the first I heard of it."

"The team leader and the central planning committee," Carlos said. "And myself, of course."

Anna frowned for a moment, then she looked up from her position on the day bed. "Seek out the spy. Start with Smith, since he so conveniently managed get away. He's a liability at the moment," she pronounced.

Carlos nodded and turned back to Alberto. "See to it. If Smith isn't the spy, eliminate him. If he is the spy, bring him to me," he ordered.

"Si, signor," murmured Alberto with a broad grin, then turned and exited the room.

"Alberto is most adept at ferreting out spies," he murmured. He clenched one fist and scowled. That arm was weaker than used to be. The damage to his shoulder also impacted his arm and it resulted in a noticeable loss of control and strength. He hid it from his underlings, but he was unable to prevent Anna from noticing. She had nursed him back to health and even helped him work in recovering the use of the arm.

"You're not giving yourself enough time, Carlos. It will get better," Anna murmured. She stood and loosely tied her robe closed, then she walked over to the bar and poured Carlos a drink.

She handed him the goblet and gave him a quick smile. "It hasn't even been a month since the attack," she said, then she sat down and casually crossed her legs, ignoring the way the robe opened to reveal far more than her thighs. "What will you do about the spy?"

"Kill him, of course," Carlos replied with a shrug.

"No," Anna said firmly.

"No?" He echoed, looking at her incredulously.

"Killing him is too easy and doesn't send a powerful enough message," she replied. "You want to make a point, both to the people employing the spy and to the people working for you. Kill him and in a week no one will remember his name. You want your people to shudder in remembrance of what happened to the spy every time they consider the idea of betraying you."

He stared at her, but he could see she was serious. "So you think I should leave him alive?" he said slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the concept.

"Just like Bunniford was alive when he last left this room," she said reminding him with a smirk. "Oh, he didn't stay that way, but it made a strong point on your people. This time you need to make a stronger point."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, I think I can see what you're saying. What do you suggest as a way of making this point?"

"A dose of Living Death potion, followed by an enervate. That will wake up the mind and keep the body in stasis. Then stick him in a coffin and bury him," she said offhandedly. "Let Alberto know he's free to tell the others what happened to the spy."

Carlos shuddered back from the imagery. Paralyzed by the potion and not needing to eat or even breathe, a person could last decades in the stasis created by the potion. But with the mind awake, it would drive a person mad! The mind would quickly start hallucinating just to make up for the lack of stimulus from the senses.

"You do have a certain flare for the dramatic, my dear," he said smoothly.

She raised a glass in a mock salute and continued to watch him.

"Is there anything else you need me to change?" he asked with a hint of amusement.

She frowned. "Well, recruitment is down because the people seem to be supporting the government. They may not be singing their praises, but word on the street is the people are more impressed with the new Ministry than they were with the old one. Perhaps it's time to make a bold move to bring more attention to our cause? Something daring; something like assassinating the muggle they placed in charge of the ministry?"

Carlos walked over to the window looking out over Knockturn alley. Few would believe that the dingiest and foulest of the bars on the alley had luxury suites for their real clientele. "A bold move indeed," he murmured. "And a very risky one, my dear. Perhaps I should let you plan and execute this effort, hmmmm?"

He turned to face her, watching her carefully.

Anna blinked and paled. "Carlos, I'm no fighter. I could perhaps help devise a plan, but my wand work isn't good enough for this. If you want him assassinated quietly, I can do that, but what you need is a high profile attack to attract attention to our cause and my methods won't achieve that goal."

"Yes, you prefer more subtle methods, like your fondness for poisons and potions. Very well then, we shall see. Perhaps we can use this to test the loyalty of our central planning committee."

Anna relaxed slightly and Carlos gave her a leer. "I guess I'll have to find other ways for you to be useful around here, my dear."

She shifted slightly, knowing it would further open her robe, giving him more of a show. She knew exactly what he meant. He used her for his pleasure and most of the time for hers as well. "I am yours to command, Carlos," she said huskily.

He strode over to her and grabbed her roughly by her hair, kissing her deeply for a moment. "See that you remember that, Anna," he said softly. "It would be such a shame for a pretty little thing like yourself to find out you've been entombed in a box for eternity."

Anna gasped and bowed her head submissively. She was in deep with Carlos and every time she made even the slightest bid for some control, he stomped on her hard.

**#10 Downing Street, London, April 25th...**

"Prime Minister?"

John Major looked up from the file he was reading and he pressed a button on his desk. "Yes?"

"Ambassador Enzhu is here requesting a meeting with you," said his secretary over the intercom. "He says he bears an urgent message from his government that cannot be delayed."

Major frowned. It was most unusual to come unannounced and it rarely signaled good news. Saying the message he bore was 'urgent' was very worrisome. He glanced at his appointment calendar and saw he could spare the time. "Send him in, please."

He released the button and a moment later the door opened to admit the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to his office. Major stood and walked around his desk, hiding his frown. He hadn't been wearing his jacket and he hated appearing so informal. "Mr. Ambassador, it is a pleasure to see you again," he said smiling and offering his hand.

"Mr. Prime Minister, it is a pleasure, I just wish it were under better circumstances," replied Enzhu.

Major motioned for the man to take a seat, then he sat across from him. "Oh?"

"I know your government has been anxiously waiting to see what direction my government would go concerning the dragons and we do apologize for taking so long to make a decision. Premier Peng has opted for a position of non-interference for now. The Weyr that exists on our soil will be allowed to maintain its current status. Unfortunately, that is not the reason why I have come here today."

Enzhu reached into a briefcase and pulled out a file folder, which he passed to Major. "Colonel Jin Tan Mu was one of our most efficient and trusted security officers. Unfortunately, we now have reason to suspect that the man has gone rogue and in doing so robbed one of our embassies of a considerable sum of monies in UK Pounds and various other currencies."

Enzhu carefully avoided mentioning the missing counterfeit US money. Any government caught counterfeiting would have the entire world turn against them for undermining another government's currency.

"The colonel is acting from bad information. He was originally sent to Britain to locate something for us when he stumbled upon your Weyr. To the colonel, it looked like an attempt to militarize the use of magic, something which my government is strongly against.

"The colonel had been pressing our government for permission to attack the Weyr and now we fear that he has enough money to buy the supplies he needs, as well as hire mercenaries to support such an attack. You see, we have had problems with wizards in the past and he identified the place as containing wizards who appeared to be in military training. The Colonel's views on magic and wizards are a trifle 'extreme', even by our standards.

"My government takes a dim view of wizards in any military and deem them as a threat. Colonel Tan's plan was rejected out of hand for obvious reasons and he was reassigned to our Athen's office with the remit of cleaning up the corruption there. Given his record, we thought he would have done as he was ordered.

"When he failed to show up for his duty posting at the Athens embassy on April 10th no one thought anything of it. He was new in the posting and the embassy staff did not know the Colonel had never taken time off for illness. Two days later they sent someone to his quarters, only to find it empty. A search of his office revealed the funds taken, along with a number of other items. We fear, Mr. Prime Minister, that this rogue officer means to attack your Weyr, and having heard of some of the abilities of these beings, we have no wish to be their enemy."

The Ambassador had viewed the movie created by the Weyr for introducing the dragons and it was easy enough to read between the lines. The dragons might be peaceful and beautiful to look upon, but underneath their beauty lay a formidable power. The People's Liberation Army analysts were pouring over his report on the dragons and they were claiming there was cause for concern.

Major glanced up from looking at the file in alarm. He reached across his deck to the intercom and pressed a button.

"Sir?"

"Contact Lord Kennewick and Sir Basil. Tell them I need them here within the hour," he said, then he released the button and turned back to the Chinese Ambassador. "Mr. Ambassador, I understand the awkward position this puts you and your government in. Her Majesty's government is grateful for your warning."

Enzhu stood and gave Major a slight bow. "Thank you for your time and consideration on this delicate matter."

He started to turn, then he stopped and turned back to Major. "One thing, Mr. Prime Minister. I nearly forgot. My Premier instructs me to tell you that, while capturing this rogue officer would be nice, if the choice comes down to a matter of protecting the Weyr or capturing the man, kill him."

Major blinked in surprise, then he nodded. "Thank you, sir," he said quietly. That made life easier. The Chinese weren't going to make a stink about bringing the man back to China for justice.

**Baju, Azerbaijan, Former Soviet Block State, April 25th...**

Jin Tan Mu, former colonel of the People's Republic of China's Ministry for State Security looked at the boxes of AK47s and ammunition and nodded in appreciation. The smaller pile of SA-7s and Sagger missiles was less pleasing. The small, man portable missiles were harder to come by even with the glut of munitions on the black market.

When the Soviet Union fell apart only a few years ago, vast quantities of weapons and ammunition fell into the hands of the black market. Along with the fall of Russian communism, so went the values of it's people as they scrambled to find ways to earn a living. It rankled him that he was easily able to hire forty former Spetznaz soldiers for a few hundred British pounds a month each. It was a group that somehow had managed to stay together by performing odd jobs for the various criminal elements that now ran vast tracts of land within the former Soviet State.

The Spetznaz used to be the elite of the Soviet military, like the SAS of the British military or the Army Rangers from the US. And Tan had hired forty of what were supposed to be the most committed and dedicated communists, who were now reduced to contract killings and mercenary work just to earn a wage.

Thus far he had amassed a large room full of weapons and ammunition. This last shipment was merely the latest batch of weapons for his troop.

He was unaware of the havoc his disappearance from Athens was causing. He figured they knew by now, but he had a mission to protect the state and he'd use any means necessary to do so.

He grimaced and puffed hard on his cigarette, blanching slightly at the taste. It was one of the better brands he could get in this foul backwater country. Like so much else he was having to make do with the cast offs from the former Soviet Union, including terrible cigarettes.

He threw down his half smoked cigarette and viciously snuffed it out with his heel. He knew he was taking an enormous risk by his actions, but the fools in the Politburo were being short sighted. The British were training up wizards for their military and only he had the certain understanding of what danger they posed to his country.

Closing and locking the door to the weapons, he walked over to the car where Janus stood waiting. Janus was the leader of the mercenary band and a former lieutenant in the Soviet Army. Tan grunted in annoyance. Janus and his men needed a month or more of refresher training before they could hope to assault the British base. Janus knew of a place they could train. Running a lightening raid on a military facility is very different than killing a local prosecutor and his family for some mob boss.

"Let's go to the camp," Tan said sourly. "I want to meet the rest of your troop."

Janus nodded and slid into the driver's seat. "They are good boys who will do what they are told, but we may need to get more men if this base is as big as you say," he offered. He was used to people looking down on him and his men, as this strange Chinese man. It didn't bother him. As long as they got paid, that was all that mattered. And this Tan had money to spare and maybe more work from the Chinese. Tan promised that his government would be glad to learn of his efforts. It gave Janus some hope that perhaps communism wasn't dead everywhere.

**Weyr Security Office, Campbeltown Weyr, April 25th...**

Harry popped out of Between over Campbeltown and like usual the pair slowly spiraled for a few moments. He had gone to Maziang to pick up a translation of a dozen different potion recipes that Lobsang had his people work on. They had carefully cross referenced the ingredients using a standard Herbology book so that there would be no confusion caused by plants having different names.

He could have sent someone else to go pick up the manuscript, but he was tired of sitting and reading. He used the trip as an excuse to get out and away from the Weyr for a few hours. Lobsang had been keen to show him some improvements they had made to the Weyr and Harry was glad for the diversion.

"_Look at the main gate. What are those doing there?"_ Chekiath asked worriedly.

Harry looked at the main gate then swore under his breath. "Land in front of the Administration building. I need to talk to Major Atkins."

When the guard force had been reinforced, Katherine had been pushed from her office in the small guard shack to a larger office in the main administration building.

"_Yes, Harry,"_ replied the dragon. Chekiath tilted and side slipped, then dove for the large building. Back when this was still an airbase, the administration building had been the largest building on base after the aircraft hangars. Now it was third largest, having been dwarfed by the new Weyr theater. And it would slip again if they ever built the block of Weyr apartments that were being designed.

Chekiath flared out and he came to a gentle landing. _"Are you going to make those things go away, Harry? I don't like having them here," _Chekiath asked worriedly.

"I don't like them any more than you do, Cheki. Either they go or we will," Harry replied firmly, then he slid lightly to the ground. He didn't need his ability to talk to all dragons to hear how unhappy the dragons were. It was like someone had laid a blanket over the Weyr, permeating it with a general sense of discomfort and fear.

The dragons knew how dangerous those machines were and they didn't want them anywhere near their home.

Harry walked into the building and headed straight for the Weyr security office. He had just entered and found a large group of people talking tensely. Sirius spotted him and shoved a message form into his hands. "Read that," he said.

The message was addressed to Major Atkins, outlining a detailed estimate of the threat against the Weyr, then gave notice that an armored brigade would be moving into the Weyr. The two heavy tanks at the main gate were merely the forerunner of a much larger force of heavy armor that the MOD felt would be necessary to defend the Weyr against attack.

"Damnation," Harry swore under his breath, then he handed the message form back to Katherine Atkins. Harry stared out the window for a moment, while the others remained silent, letting him put his thoughts together. Finally, he turned back to Katherine. "I do not want to turn the Weyr into an armed camp. I want those tanks removed at once! We have a whole regiment moving in next door. They're already occupying the barrack buildings. We'll increase our air patrols, but the presence of that regiment and their firepower should be able to come to our aid in time, right?"

Katherine frowned. "My guard force is good enough for a stopping a couple people, but we're not set up to handle a coordinated attack by professionals," she replied, waving the message and its threat estimate.

"And that new regiment can't help?" he asked incredulously.

"They can," replied Katherine patiently, "but it will take time for them to get armed and get into position. If I have to deal with a group of trained mercenaries like the MOD thinks, we could be wiped out to a man before the SAS gets here and they are only next door."

"We're going to have to take that risk. I cannot prepare the Weyr for a public unveiling only to end up showing the press that the Weyr is an armed camp. I've seen some of your precautions and frankly I don't like the idea of parking two tanks near the main gate. Chekiath and the others are already uneasy with their presence."

"Harry, try to be reasonable," Katherine said, trying to placate him, "they are here for your protection."

Harry stared at her for a moment longer. "Fine," he said. "Chekiath?"

"_Yes, Harry?"_ replied the dragon who was currently perched on the roof of the building.

"Summon in all the wings and detached dragons. We're evacuating the Weyr and the country."

Harry turned to face Katherine. "You forget what we can do and you forget who we are. Dragon riders will not cower behind your troops, nor will we allow our home to be turned into an armed camp. The Weyr is dragon rider territory. The day when another nation occupies our territory is the day when we've worn out our welcome." he said angrily.

A sudden shocked silence filled the room, then the others could hear Cheki bellowing from the roof. His cries were returned by dozens of dragons bellowing back in response.

Harry looked at Katherine and shook his head, then he turned to Lord Mills. "Lord Mills, the dragons do appreciate all you've done for us. At this time, however, I find the Weyr is unable to maintain its relationship with the British Government. We can always be reached via a dragon at Condron or Maziang."

Harry spun on his heel and walked briskly from the room. leaving Sirius and Remus glaring at the others.

"I told you he wouldn't accept it," Sirius said tensely. "Come on, Remus. Looks like we're going camping again."

James sighed and shook his head. The message had been well meaning, but planned by people that had no concept of the dragon riders or what they would accept. "I'll call the PM's office. In the meantime, I suggest you remove those tanks at the gate and send a message up the line that no tanks will be allowed inside the Weyr. As soon as I'm done talking to the Prime Minister, I'll talk to Harry and see if I can calm him down enough to listen."

Katherine nodded unhappily. She had been willing to allow the extra fire power onto the grounds because she knew she couldn't hold off an organized assault for long without help. She was also unhappy because she _had forgotten_ the dragons and what they could do. Small arms fire might hurt a dragon, but wouldn't kill one, and with their ability to flame a target, the Weyr could easily fight off an armored assault. She had allowed the MOD to move heavy armor into autonomous territory. It was an act that other countries would go to war over.

Lord Mills caught up with Harry ten frantic minutes later. He stood in front of hangar two, where he was discussing the move with several riders. He wasn't surprised to see that most of the riders seemed to be in agreement with Harry's decision, even if they were unhappy with it. The dragons didn't want the tanks there and that was good enough for the riders. The wing leaders and seconds were standing around Harry and he was explaining something to Ronan when James approached. The other riders were all nearby, looking resigned to the sudden turn of events.

"Harry, can I speak with you?" he asked.

Harry glanced up from his conversation with Ronan and held up a hand to stay his second a moment. "Yes, sir?"

"I've spoken to the Prime Minister. He wants me to assure you that who ever cut those orders did so without his permission. He agrees with you totally and has promised that he will personally tell Lord Kennewick to remove the heavy tanks," James said. "Please, give us some time to work this out. We'll find a solution that everyone can agree with. For what it's worth, the PM agrees with you. Placing heavy weapons in the Weyr would definitely send the wrong kind of message."

Around them the noise dropped off as the riders and dragons listened intently to Harry and Lord Mills.

"_Harry, the big machines are moving towards the science buildings,"_ Chekiath announced.

"Major Atkins asked them to relocate there while they wait for their transport trucks," James said quietly.

Harry glanced around. A large number of his riders looked at him hopefully, then he settled on Ronan, his wing second. "Ronan? What do you think?"

Ronan grimaced. "We can always move later if we had to. The tanks are leaving. That's all that matters now. I say we stay."

Harry nodded and glanced towards Draco, Marty and Abbey. One by one each echoed Ronan's comment of "Stay". As they spoke, James felt the knot in his belly unravel a little bit more.

He looked around at the faces of his riders who all looked relieved. "All right, we'll stay, but we need to talk about this. Everyone meet at the theater in twenty minutes," Harry said.

James smiled and leaned closer to Harry. "It was a good move, lad, and you woke up a few people who needed waking up."

Harry shook his head. "I'm torn, James. I don't know if it's a good thing or not. But the dragons did not like those tanks. Now I have to tell the riders that we're not only working to go public, but we're also working to protect ourselves against a possible attack by a nutcase who scared someone at the Ministry of Defense enough to send us tanks. The message didn't give details about this guy, but someone is obviously very concerned.

"We just got rid of the wizard threat in Britain, now this? When do we start having normal days where the only thing we have to worry about is a misaligned scale or making our quota of hot rocks?"

"It won't always be this way," James said soothingly. He knew Harry had a valid complaint. The Weyr seemed to be confronted with one obstacle after another. "But you're building something completely new. It would be unreasonable not to expect a bumpy ride for the next few years."

Harry nodded unhappily, then he shrugged. "I better head over to the theater. We chased the tanks away, now we have to beef up our own patrols. Would you ask Major Atkins to join us? I'm afraid I was pretty hard on her."

James chuckled. "You were no harder than you should have been. These are your people and you have to look out for them. They expect you to protect them, and that's why they follow you."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, then he turned and started walking towards the theater. It and the kitchen hall were the only places large enough to hold all of the riders now. As he walked, May fell into step on his right and Hermione on his left. Without thinking about it, he reached for both of their hands.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, surprising both girls, "but I couldn't let them move those tanks into the Weyr. I don't even know where we would have gone."

They walked a bit further in silence, then Hermione said, "I know it bothers you, but everyone knew you'd fix it. We went to Major Atkins to protest the tanks while you were at Maziang. She wouldn't listen to us."

Harry slowed a little and looked down. "I stomped on her really hard. I know why she's worried but tanks won't solve anything and create so many other problems."

"I'm sure she understands that, Harry. She won't hold it against you," May replied.

Harry grunted, then he released their hands and opened the door to the building for them. "I hope so," he muttered. "I think Sirius and her are getting very serious and I would hate to cause any problems with that."

He waited until they entered, then he followed them in. Someone inside the building was turning on the lights, as the riders filed into the seats. Harry walked up to the stage and climbed the short steps. He moved to the podium that was on one side of the stage and waited. The wing leaders and their seconds sat in the front row. Once the riders were seated, others from the Weyr - Lord Mills, Sir Robert, Remus, Sirius, Doctor Sheppard and others - filed in, also taking seats.

Harry spotted Sirius and Katherine entering and he waved for them to come down to the front. Satisfied that everyone was present, he walked over to a white board and drew a crude outline of the Weyr, then he placed a series of XX's against one side of the outline.

"Thank you for assembling today," he said softly. "I'm sure that you're all confused by what just happened. I will do my best to try to clear up the confusion, but first, Major Atkins, I apologize for my rude behavior. I realize that you are concerned for the safety of the men under your command and believe me when I say I can empathize with that sentiment. The Weyr shall do our best to protect ourselves and your men.

"However, the dragons of Campbeltown have first hand knowledge of what those machines are capable of doing. This is dragon rider territory. It's not much, but it is ours, and dragon riders will protect it. If the time comes that the Weyr feels it could benefit from such help from our hosts, we will ask for it. Your security force does what it was originally intended for, keeping out the random intruder and it's done a very good job of that," Harry said.

Katherine nodded and gave him a weak smile in return.

Harry returned her smile and Sirius gripped her hand tighter. Satisfied, he turned back to his riders. "Our host is very worried. They received a warning from the Chinese government that one of their military officers has gone and vanished after stealing a lot of money. The reason why they are so concerned is this same individual had proposed to lead an attack on the Weyr with the purpose of wiping it out, then blaming the attack on a terrorist group."

Harry paused to let that sink in. "This man is dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that someone in the Ministry of Defense thought to send us tanks to protect the Weyr."

Lord Mills stood. "Harry, when I spoke with the PM, he told me that they are afraid he would use the money he stole to hire mercenaries to attack us."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. It was something that had occurred to him as well. "Ronan?" Harry called.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember when you went out and got a book about tanks so you could share the images with Garanoth, who in turn passed them to the other dragons?" Harry asked.

Ronan nodded.

"Can you talk to Katherine about what kind of guns he might be able to buy to use against us. With the dragon's eyesight, they should be able to identify a gun even from a thousand feet or higher," Harry said.

Ronan nodded and Katherine stood up.

"Harry," she called, "learning to identify a gun might help, but there are weapons that can be bought that would bring a flying dragon down."

Harry blinked and looked at her in shock. "Really?"

She nodded, "We know the dragons have an intense internal heat source. An infrared missile, such as the Soviet SA-18 or the American Stinger, are heat seekers and are man portable. Caught unaware, one of these missiles could easily injure or kill a dragon, I think. Something designed to shoot down a plane flying at more than twice the typical dragon speed could seriously injure or kill a dragon."

Harry fell silent for a moment and Marty Benson stood up. He was Wing Leader of Wing Two and, like Ronan, also interested in engineering as a career. He turned to Katherine. "Can these missiles be spotted? If so, wing pairs can keep an eye out and jump Between the moment a missile trail is seen."

Katherine nodded and looked a little more relieved. "That could work, but you'd need to practice the maneuver. These things are designed to catch a high speed fighter plane, so you'd only have a few seconds at best. I could ask the MOD if we can get a supply of smoke rockets we could use. That would give the wings a chance to practice safely."

"That could work, but I also want to coordinate the air patrol with Major Atkins ground units better. Can we get portable radios, like the ones used by the foot patrols? If we can, we can practice working with the ground patrols," Harry asked, then he paused and seemed to consider something. "Would the cold of Between interfere with these missiles?"

Katherine looked at Harry in surprise, then nodded. Getting radios in the hands of the airborne riders would be easy and it would give her a way of finding out what is going on. "I'm not sure about the cold, Harry. I'd have to ask someone, but I would guess probably yes. They home in on heat. Cold would obviously disrupt that. But the cold only appears when they appear or disappear, so I don't think it would be very useful."

Harry nodded thoughtfully and considered it further. "Katherine, please find out if the cold would interfere with the missiles."

He then gestured to the diagram on the white board. "The Weyr is roughly rectangular in shape. Along one side we have the new science complex and space for the new SAS regiment, which has already started to move in. Honestly, if anyone attacks from that side, they are going to end up fighting through a regiment of combined soldiers and wizards, right Katherine?"

Katherine grinned wickedly. "As our Yank friends would say, an attack through that camp would put someone in a world of hurt. I think I see what you're leading up to then. We only have to really worry about three sides."

Harry nodded. "Yes, that was my thought. We can concentrate on the three open areas and keep a basic air patrol in the direction of the new base," he said, then he turned back to the Wing Leaders, "In the meantime, we've been lax with our firing practice. I want everyone to get at least four hours a week on the firing range from here on. And no more going out on patrol and leaving your bandoliers behind. I want everyone armed when on patrol or out on Weyr business."

He relaxed slightly and smiled. "I know this is a real pain, especially when we're in the middle of planning to reveal dragons to the world. We shall handle it like every other challenge we've faced. And before you all think today is nothing but gloom and doom, earlier today I visited Maziang Weyr to pick up a special package.

"May, I have a list of the potion recipes that they have. Lobsang and several others carefully translated these into English and made sure to use English names for the ingredients."

May looked up and smiled widely. She had been pushing to get information on those potions. She was sure there was a fair amount of cross over between what they already had, but there might be some new ones also. She had conferred with the Maziang beast master who had specialized in dragons. Unfortunately, the man had never dared to get too close to them until recently. His one advantage was he was a brilliant animal healer, and was able to advise May on several occasions.

Harry glanced around then he said, "Unless we have other business, let's get to work."

Ronan stood again and Harry turned to him.

"Harry, most of us have seen the men following you around when you leave the Weyr without Chekiath. I've asked May, but she refuses to say why you suddenly have bodyguards." he asked.

Harry sighed and nodded. A hush fell in the theater and several leaned forward in their seats. "We have an unconfirmed rumor that one of the Russians we chased from Irtysh River Weyr has been trying to hire someone to assassinate me. It's unconfirmed, and we have no proof he's managed to hire anyone. Albus Dumbledore says he won't dare confront me directly and thinks this is the only way of satisfying his honor."

"Why won't he confront you directly?" asked Marty Benson.

Harry shrugged, "Albus says it's because he's a wizard."

Several of the magical riders nodded knowingly, while most of the others looked confused. Harry ran a hand through his hair and scowled slightly. "Look, it's simple. There are four classes of magical people. Normal people, or muggles to the wizarding world. These are people that have no real control over any magic. Normals can't see some enchanted objects or creatures. Squibs are very low powered people that can't harness enough magic to use a wand. They can see magical creatures like dementors, or ghosts. In fact, most ghost sightings are probably from people who are squibs and just don't know it.

"Then you have a witch or wizard. They can cast spells using a wand, enchant objects, do all sorts of magic. Finally, you have mages, basically witches and wizards with more powerful than usual. Mages are pretty rare. There are only a handful in Britain today. Our Russian friend is just a wizard."

Harry trailed off, not wanting to mention his status.

"And you're a mage," Ronan said into the silence.

"He is," Hermione said with a touch of pride. "And his 'more power than usual' is downplaying the fact that his power is a full order of magnitude greater than my own."

Ronan turned to look at her incredulously. "Ten times?"

Hermione nodded and Harry blushed then looked down, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. He hated being singled out as different. He didn't even like it when he was singled out as Weyrleader.

"Oh, do that stop that, Harry," Luna said from her seat. "You know it's likely that being a mage is what allows you to talk to every dragon. The first time you did that, I could feel the power behind your voice. I knew instantly what you were and I wouldn't be surprised if every Lord Weyrleader that comes after you is a mage."

Harry arched and eyebrow at her. "Lord Weyrleader?"

Luna smiled at him. "Well, why not? We have Lord Holders and holders, why not a Lord Weyrleader and Weyrleaders. It's as good a name as Supreme Weyrleader, or Supreme Gnizzle Leader, don't you agree? Each new Weyr may have a leader, but you are The Weyrleader. Even when the dragons mention you, you can hear them capitalizing the words."

"_May calls him her favorite Stud Muffin Man, if you're looking for more titles for him,"_ Trath announced suddenly to all.

"_Do you want to know what Hermione calls him? She hasn't told him yet, but..."_

Harry blanched, "Meeting adjourned," he shouted and all but ran from the room.

Behind him, the riders broke up in laughter, while May sunk lower in her seat and wished her dragon would learn some tact. Hermione stood and headed to the exit, intending to have yet another conversation about privacy with her dragon. She knew it wouldn't help, but that didn't stop her from trying.

Ronan fought against the crowd to catch up to Hermione.

"Hermione!" he called.

She stopped and looked around before spotting him.

"Look, Hermione, I know Harry glossed over the issue, but should we be taking more precautions to protect him?" he asked intently.

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't think so. Most of the time he's followed by Chekiath, Comaloth and Trath. Those few times when no dragon is with him, he has two bodyguards," she replied. "Besides, you know how he hates anyone making a fuss over him."

Ronan nodded. "Fine, but if anything changes, will you tell me?"

When Hermione nodded, Ronan smiled, then moved off to find Katherine.

From her vantage point just outside of the theater, Hermione could see Cheki and Comaloth near the Weyr firing range. _Typical,_ she thought. _He orders us to do more firing practice, then he starts doing it himself. _

Near the range was an unremarkable sedan which was normally used by the DPG men watching Harry.

"_I'm watching over him,"_ Comaloth said privately, reading her uneasiness and reminding her that she was watching over the Weyrleader. _"We can talk about privacy later. Besides, I think he'd like to know __what you call him."_

She smiled weakly, _"You know me too well,"_ she sent back to her dragon.

It had been a little over a week since she marshaled her courage and slipped into his bath that night. He had shown her that her first time was a fluke and helped her go to places she never dreamed possible. He loved her, and like he promised, when he was with her, he was totally with her. She couldn't imagine a life without him now, and was greatly looking forward to a point in a few years when they could hold a handfasting ceremony between the three of them.

Their private life was very different than what she had expected. The three would settle down for the evening, taking a late meal in Harry's house, rather than the kitchen hall. Then all three would study for several hours before Harry would retire for an evening shower. The two girls seemed to know between them what schedule they should maintain. Contrary to her father's belief, there had been nights where all three retired to sleep with both girls each taking a shoulder and talking softly between them until they fell asleep.

To her immense surprise, Hermione found the arrangement surprisingly satisfying. Harry never once requested any specific girl join him. The sole exception to that rule concerned birthdays and other special reasons to celebrate. Harry had told both girls that their birthdays he would do whatever he could to make the day special for them and he didn't care if it disrupted their schedule. Both girls were surprised by the statement and agreed it sounded like a good idea, although Hermione knew she and May would need to carefully consider what to do for Harry's birthday.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

* Rune1806 questions why Harry would want a weyr in Japan when he's overlooking the fact that there are currently 2 unnamed Weyrs in Japan already. Not every country is going to get a Weyr. Harry needs to keep the population of dragons to a reasonable limit and in conversations with Sir Robert they came to the conclusion that roughly 10,000 bonded dragons, plus the unbonded would be the max limit. Currently there are roughly 8,000 to 9,000 non-bonded dragons and barely three hundred bonded dragons. The population will probably settle out somewhere in the range of 10,000 bonded dragons and roughly 3,000 to 4,000 non-bonded dragons. Japan gets a Weyr because it is easier to convert an existing old reserve into a manned Weyr than it is to build from scratch.

* Hebi R was so concerned about breast sizes that he/she wrote a review to proudly inform me that any exercise would likely reduce the cup size of a breast. Of course he/she is cleverly omitting the case in which pectoral muscles are being increased in size which can more than compensate for any size loss. Frankly breast sizes never really concerned me, I find any size appealing. On the other hand Hebi R's review to show off the size of his/her nits was deeply disturbing.

* Deiticlast offered a lesson in html so that we could provide you with a link instead of giving you the name, author and storyID and having you manually search for it. Deiticlast, believe it or not we do know how to insert html links. We choose not to because there are plenty of people reading this that still struggle with the searching feature of FFN. We provide enough information that they can search for it under multiple methods. Consider it a lesson in searching.

* Red-jacobson wrote, "Anyway, while I do like Hermione as a character, and agree that it was very much in canon for her to refuse to admit she did something wrong, I'm not really sold on the idea that she would be willing to join in a polygamous (if that's the correct word?) relationship."

_**Seriously Red**_. Have you looked at your **OWN** Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Harem The Rewrite?! You've got Harry/Multiples (Luna, Cho, Padma, Susan Bones, Pansy Parkinson, Katie Bell, **Hermione**, Fleur, many other girls) and you're going to complain about me hooking Harry up in an three way that doesn't include bisexual behavior. I think you need to look a little closer at home because if I can't get away with it, then neither can you.

* Autonomy is limited people. That means that the riders are still bound by English law just like a native American is bound by American Federal law. Harry cannot declare multiple marriages legal just because it suits him. Hell, the British are rather finicky about leaders making declarations about marriages. Henry the VIII did it all the time and look what happened to him! So no Harry isn't going to set a marriage law just because it benefits him.

* On a pleasant note, Wings is completed and work has begun on the final book in the series. That does mean that once the last chapter is released, you're looking at roughly three months before the next book starts to be published. Like Wings, I want to have at least 10 chapters ready before we start publishing. After this chapter there is roughly 6.6 chapters to go. That means it will probably end up being 6 more chapters.

* Recently we've had several complaints about people reading our stories straight through. These people have complained of fatigue, spousal anger, children starving, bills not being paid etc. Seriously, it's not our fault if you can't put the file away and get to bed at a reasonable time. Just set a limit for yourself and walk away when the time is up. Or not. Heck, ignore the wife, feed the kids to the pets and screw the bills, keep reading. Just don't complain to us about it.

And now for this chapter's recommendation.

**Force Sensitive** by **LunaStorm**

StoryID:**7104491**

This is a short, humor based story which really tickled my fancy. Harry discovers magic early, but thinks it's not magic, it's the force. Yeah that idea has been done many times, but LunaStorm took the idea in a totally different direction. It's a short tale, less than 5K and well worth the read. If you like the tale, drop a note to the author saying so and encourage them to keep writing!


	14. Chapter 14

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob walked out onto the stage and faced the audience. He held up a sign which read, "We don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern."

"What?" screeched Alyx. "You can't do this to me! I had plans! Draco and Snape were going to do a remake of Apollo 13 and get fired into space inside of a giant who who!"

Bob shuddered and slowly lowered the sign. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry folks, but I tried to avoid the Who who madness," he said softly, then he walked off the stage.

Alyx eagerly rushed forward. "Picture this," she said, then she started drawing scenes on a white board.

"_Harry! What's wrong with Bob?"_ exclaimed Chekiath.

Harry turned away from looking at the audience who were slowly turning green from Alyx's images. "I think he's about Who who'd out Mate."

"Hey! No talking!" Alyx shouted, then she started to talk about Snape's weightless dance scene.

"_Harry, perhaps we should start the chapter?"_ whispered Chekiath. _"Alyx is starting to scare me."_

"Me too," replied Harry.

* * *

**Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.  
- Margret Mead**

**Lee Jordan's quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, April 26th...**

Lee slipped from the bed slowly.

"Where are you going?" asked Mariah sleepily.

"Just getting up for the day, Mari. I want to check on that box of supplies Lord Mills sent over yesterday."

"Remember what Doctor Sheppard said. Take it easy," she murmured, then she drifted back to sleep.

Lee smiled at her still form on the bed and marveled at the changes in his life. His Soranth had covered her Buth when she rose for the first time, though they'd slipped into the friends with benefits relationship before that happened. After Buth rose, their relationship had become a bit more committed, but neither knew just how serious they were until Lee had nearly been killed in the shoot out in Diagon alley. After that, Buth had calmly informed Mariah that Soranth had picked her as consort and she was very pleased by that.

When Issac finally released Lee from the Weyr clinic, he was still in a great deal of discomfort. Mariah met him at the door and escorted him to his cottage where, to his surprise, he'd found that she had moved in and gotten one of the wizards to expand the dragon stall for both dragons.

She had been a little fearful of his reaction, but he was personally delighted and just a bit grateful. He was by no means healed completely and even with magic they couldn't make all of the problems go away. His hospital stay, then three extra days in the clinic, left him weak and easily fatigued. Even with Issac visiting him three times a day to check on him, he was glad for her company and happy to have her there.

The only real benefit that Lee could see was that the crisis had allowed them both to examine their feelings and realize they were deeper than they originally thought.

He walked over to the small desk that held his computer and looked at the pile of books and note from Lord Mills. Picking up the note he read;

_Lee,_

_Harry asked me to pick up some items that would make it easier for you. I spoke with the manager of the PM's Public Affairs office and he suggested a wide list of software designed for producing images, newsletters and videos. I have, with Harry's full approval, purchased some of the recommendations and had one of Major Atkins' people install the software on your computer. The books are mostly manuals for the programs and there are two basic books on the media and public relations. _

_I have also provided you with the email address for the PM's Public Affairs office. They have graciously agreed to either answer any questions you might have or point you in the direction of the answer. I have been told quite specifically that with the date set for the public announcement, it would be in the Weyr's best interests if you were to spend your time putting together a press kit._

_I have included a sample kit from the PM's office for you to look at. Call me if you have any questions._

_James._

_P.S. Issac says you are scheduled to undergo a series of hospital x-rays on May 15th. Assuming the scans show normal, Issac will approve you for Between shortly after that date._

"Cool," Lee murmured, then he placed the note to one side and turned to examine the box of books.

Opening a book that sounded interesting, he started flipping pages. It was nearly an hour later when a hand holding a cup appeared in his vision and he jerked back in surprise.

"Easy, Lee. I'm just offering you some tea," Mariah said softly. "What's got you so engrossed this early?"

He took the cup and handed her the note from James. After she read it her brow furrowed. "A press kit? What's in it?"

Lee shrugged. "I don't know. There's a box at the bottom of all that," he said, waving his hand toward the pile. "I assume that's it. I got sidetracked with this photo editing program."

Mariah smiled seeing him wave the manual for one of the premiere photo editing programs in the world and nodded in understanding. Lee was very artistic by nature and was drawn to anything that could help with that. In fact, she had discovered that he had made a few, very accurate hand drawn nudes of her before they had even gotten together. It angered her at first until she realized he hadn't used magic. It was merely his imagination, his talent and his eye for detail.

Lee's drawings were in great demand in the Weyr. The most popular being one he had drawn of Harry on Chekiath, leading a wing of dragons as they dove on the tanks at Lac Logipi. At least half of the non-bonded dragons had that image hanging on the wall of their stalls, much to Harry's embarrassment.

Lee's forays into computer graphics would have implications that none could have predicted at the time.

**Harry's Quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, April 26th...**

While Lee and Mariah discussed the start of a totally new office and function in the Weyr, Harry was mulling over a problem of his own making and wondering what to do about it.

May stepped from the bedroom and she smiled spotting, Harry sitting on the couch. He was facing away from her and seemed oblivious to her presence. She took another step then she heard Chekiath rumbling merrily in his stall. She glanced over at the large dragon and wondered what he was laughing at. Another step into the room and she skidded to a halt and looked at Chekiath again. Or more exactly, she looked at his stall.

"Harry?" she whispered.

When he didn't answer she repeated her call again, only louder. "Harry?"

Harry grunted. Like May, he was staring at Chekiath's stall.

"_This gives me room to stretch,"_ Chekiath announced.

"I'll say. There's room in there for half the Weyr," May muttered in response to Cheki's comment, then she turned to Harry. "What did you do?"

"I tried to expand the space out to fit three very large Horntails," he replied with a cringe.

She turned back to the stall with wide eyes. Chekiath's stall used to be space enlarged area of roughly forty feet by forty feet. It was large, but not enough to cramp the large dragon who curled up in the spot. The interface between the stall and the main living room was enchanted such that the stall didn't affect the size of the living room. It was one of the more unique features of the spells enlarging the area such that the opening appeared to match the size of the rest of the room. It made the living room a little larger than it actually was, but that was a limitation of the magic involved.

Harry, it seems, didn't know that particular enchantment and he had tried to expand the stall, which now made the living room appear cavernous! The dragon stall area was at least two hundred feet long by sixty feet deep. Add in the normal sized living room, which had expanded to match the one opening in the wall, and you had a room bigger than the Weyr Kitchen Hall.

"Norendrath?"

"_Yes, Weyrleader?"_

"Is Sirius busy?"

"_No, Weyrleader. Smelly Dog and Brown Runner are done shagging for the morning,"_ replied the dragon cheerfully.

Harry turned red and May laughed. He gave her a reproachful look, then turned back in the direction of the dragon, who was sitting on Sirius' cottage a block away. "Would you ask him if he knows of a way to reverse a space enlarging charm?"

"_One moment, Weyrleader."_

"I guess I should have realized there was more than one enchantment involved," he said ruefully. "I thought it was built into the enlargement charm."

May looked confused at his explanation, but it was clear that Harry was just as equally confused.

"Harry, what have you done?" exclaimed a very sleep tousled Hermione. She stood in the doorway wearing her pajamas, which Harry thought were quite cute. He also thought May looked cute in her pajamas but he wasn't about to bring that topic up now.

"I was applying a space enlargement charm on Cheki's stall so we could fit all three dragons in there," he said with a wince.

"_And now I can stretch all the way out,"_ exclaimed Chekiath, who continued to rumble heavily. The large dragon stretched out to his full length as if to prove the point.

"You're not helping, Cheki," Harry muttered. Chekiath only rumbled louder in response, then he moved as the door to the stall opened and Comaloth stepped into the enlarged area.

Hermione's dragon looked at the enlarged space and then turned to Harry. The enlargement charm had not affected Cheki's bed, so the rest of the space was barren.

"_It's not finished,"_ she complained with a very Hermione like huff in her voice.

"_Don't worry. Harry will fix it,"_ Chekiath proclaimed. _"He is a powerful wizard. Dobby says so."_

Harry sunk lower into the couch and glared at his dragon sourly.

"_Weyrleader?"_

"_Yes, Norendrath?"_ Harry asked hopefully.

"_Smelly Dog says he doesn't know, but he and Wolf will be right over to help with your problem."_

Harry groaned. "Remus. He's going to get on my case about this, I just know it! And Sirius will use this as blackmail material for weeks."

"I still don't understand! We could fit eight dragons in this area. Why is it so large?" complained May.

Hermione shook her head and tried not to laugh, but the look on Harry's face was causing her to giggle. "It's Harry. He over powered the spell. Several elves could make the space this large, or a couple wizards. But Harry's a mage and if he isn't careful about how much power he puts in things," she replied, waving her hand toward the cavernous room. "Well, you see the results." Shaking her head, she turned and raised an eyebrow at Harry, who sunk even lower in the couch.

Hermione summoned her robe and put it on just in time as they could clearly hear a faint echo of someone knocking on the front door. The door, and the small table with phone, was now two hundred feet away instead of being only six feet from the couch.

Hermione waved her wand to open the door, allowing Remus and Sirius to enter.

"Oh, just shoot me now," Harry said, then he threw his arm over his eyes.

The two men slowly approached the couch where Harry sat, pretending he wasn't there. They were obviously examining the large room and bantering among themselves.

Finally, they reached the couch and Harry peeked one eye over his arm to look at them.

"I'm impressed, Harry, but don't you think your wives are going to be upset with you for turning the living room into an indoor Quidditch pitch?" Sirius asked innocently.

Hermione turned away and stifled a laugh, while May looked on and tried very hard to hold in her laughter.

"Hush, Sirius. This is big mage stuff. He might not be done yet, so don't interrupt his concentration," Remus said with a grin. "Besides, this isn't a Quidditch pitch. The ceiling is too low. He must be planning on an indoor ten pin bowling alley."

May lost it at that point and sat heavily in a chair, snickering. Hermione joined her a second later.

Harry pulled his arm down and looked at the four of them, then turned to Cheki. "Mate, you want to take care of this for me?" he asked.

The large dragon rumbled and Comaloth started rumbling right along. _"We don't eat friends, Harry, and it's bad manners to eat our consorts' riders,"_ replied the dragon.

"So, this is why you wanted to know about the space enlarging charm?" Remus asked.

Harry looked at his godfather. "Why can't you learn this stuff so I don't need to ask him?"

"Why not just learn it yourself?" Sirius asked. "It's not like you have anything better to do with your time!"

"Ha. Funny. Really funny." Harry then turned to glared at Remus. "You could have warned me about what would happen to a room that's attached to another."

"I could have, but you didn't ask me about that. You asked me to teach you the charm and I was so pleased to see you wanting to know any kind of magic that I completely forgot about the limiters you needed to learn," Remus explained mildly.

"So, this is your fault then?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Nope, this is one hundred percent Harry," Remus replied airily. "If your dad was here he'd be laughing himself silly and your mum would be proud of the size of the enlargement, then scold you for not doing your homework."

"Yeah, and then she'd tell you that size does matter," Sirius added.

Harry grimaced when both girls and Sirius howled in laughter. "Did you have to bring him?" he asked of Remus.

Remus grinned. "Of course. I have to be the straight man for someone," he replied.

Harry crossed his arms and sunk back into the couch glaring at everyone. Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed!

**The city of Gringault, May 1st...**

Harry scratched at the back of his head and ran a few figures in his head, then he looked at Polenth. "Are you sure about this? This is a considerable sum of money."

"_Our needs are few, Weyrleader, and if the Weyr uses the money to further your plans, then we shall have done our part. We may no longer fly the skies, but we remember what we are."_

"Very well. I'll have Karen put half of those funds into a special account for your clan. That way we'll have them on hand should any special needs arise," he replied, then he turned to Ragnok. "It's a shame that goblins are too different from humans. Your people would be ideal to be riders for Polenth's people."

Ragnok leaned back in his chair and smiled tightly. "We might not be able to impress as you humans do, but we have arranged for some of our youth to be trained together with the hatchlings from Polenth's clan. Friendships are forming that Polenth and I think will be strong enough to act like an impression bond. We might not be able to impress a hatchling, but we can form a tight connection nonetheless.

"Harry," Karen said from his side. Albert Ford sat next to Karen, although he had been silent for most of this discussion. He had pointed out to Harry that, since he had been involved with the goblins from the start, perhaps it would be best if he attended the meeting merely as an adviser.

He looked over to her.

"According to the figures provided by Lord Ragnok, even when you count in the fact that Campbeltown will be supplying food herds to augment what the Goblins provide, the amount is substantial. I'm guessing just the reinforcing of existing tunnels here in Britain will net..."

She paused and tapped a few keys on a small calculator that had been provided by the British Ministry. It was shielded so that it could work around magic. The display changed and she gasped, then she looked at Ragnok. "Lord Ragnok, this figure of eleven thousand miles of tunnels in the UK alone, it can't be accurate."

Ragnok chuckled and reached for his glass of chilled Dubog juice. "My dear, you are thinking like a surface dweller. A dragon rider flies where he may and doesn't follow any clear path. A mundane drives his motorcar along a road. The UK has nearly two hundred and fifty thousands of miles of roadways and you're shocked by our eleven thousand miles of tunnels?"

Karen swallowed nervously, "I meant no disrespect, Lord Ragnok. Our tunnels tend to be rather small and quite limited. I was applying what I knew when it obviously wasn't accurate. If I gave offense, I apologize."

Ragnok laughed softly again and he nodded regally from his chair. "No offense was taken, my dear. I find myself enjoying my dealings with the mundanes more than the wizards. While everyone has their prejudices, the mundanes at least are willing to work to overcome theirs. Now, what was your wonderful little device telling you?"

Karen blinked at him for a moment, then she glanced down at the calculator. "Roughly eighty eight thousand pounds just for the reenforcing effort in the UK alone. Other countries have many thousands of miles of more tunnels. Driving new tunnels is worth far more and when you factor in..."

She trailed off when Harry reached out and gently gripped her hand. He was concerned because she was practically hyperventilating. "Easy there. You've sold me. Just record your figures to show James when we get back. I'm sure he'll be excited to see them, as well.

"Polenth, if your clan needs anything, let me know and we'll get it for you. In the meantime, continue as you have been, and encourage your clan to make friends with the goblins. We have several non-bonded dragons who have very close friendships with humans who were too old to impress."

"_Thank you, Weyrleader,"_ replied the senior dragon.

Satisfied that the Gringotts Clan of underground dragons was settling nicely, he could now turn his attention to other matters.

"Lord Ragnok, I understand that your tunnel masters have been examining certain Weyrs worldwide. Might I know when we can hear results of their endeavors?" Harry asked.

Ragnok leaned back in his chair and glanced around. With Chekiath, Polenth and Neruth being the only dragons in the square, a number of goblins had gathered to witness their lord deal with the lord of dragons. He even noted a small cluster of children standing near their teacher and he knew that the people were listening.

"I don't have the complete report as yet, Weyrleader, but you were right about Disko Island and Nevado del Huila. Disko has been dealt with, for now. Our master tunnelers have managed to open a channel into the primary magma chamber that is allowing the lava to drain off. Master Tunneler Brusk believes they have put off any eruption for a least a century. And if they intervene again at a later date, maybe longer. There are some experimental techniques they would like to try."

Ragnok's expression turned serious. "Nevado del Huila is a different story. I'm afraid that Weyr is due for an eruption very soon. Our master tunnelers say the magma chamber is too deep to reach even with our spells. We have six months at the earliest, perhaps as much as two years at the latest before the next eruption. With our monitoring spells, we can give you a definite warning, but that warning is limited to only four weeks. When we note the ward triggering, we treat it as an immediate eruption.

"As to the other places, some of them are harder for us to reach. We have sent out teams to survey the dozen you listed. I hope to hear back from them within the month."

As Ragnok spoke, Harry pulled out his list and quickly added a new entry. He grinned sheepishly when he noted Ragnok had stopped speaking and was chuckling softly. From a goblin, it was a chilling sound.

"I'm sorry, Lord Ragnok. I just needed to put a note down to evacuate Nevado del Huila. If I don't write it down...," he trailed off when Ragnok raised a hand.

"It is a good habit to have, Weyrleader," Ragnok said, then he gestured to the goblin sitting behind him, busily scribbling on parchment. "I have a scribe who records my every word. Much to my embarrassment, he had even recorded some fights I have had with my mate."

Harry shuddered at the idea of someone writing down such private moments. There had been moments of pillow talk between him and the two girls that he'd hate to see become known, especially to someone like Sirius.

"One thing I would like to bring up, Weyrleader. Your dragons have proven themselves most useful to us. I have spoken to Polenth about increasing the number of dragons that share our tunnels, but he says he needs your permission. Originally, the bank had roughly three hundred dragons. We feel we have ample room to increase the population to many times that amount," Ragnok said carefully.

Harry nodded and looked thoughtfully at Polenth, the near black senior dragon. It was an unusual color for a Horntail and Harry had noted it was common for the underground dragons. He figured it was a result of the lack of sunlight.

"Polenth, you've been following my directive to limit the egg production?" Harry asked.

"_You did not single us out as being different from our flying brethren, Weyrleader. As I once said, you lead us, just as you do the other dragons,"_ Polenth replied with dignity.

"All right then, let's do this. Rather than release your females for unrestricted egg laying, let's see if we can figure out what we want as a maximum population. From there, we can figure out a hatching schedule that will gradually raise the population to that limit over several years," Harry said, then he turned to Ragnok. "I'm not against the idea, my Lord, I just want to make sure that the ability to maintain the dragons productively matches the population, otherwise you'll end up with dragons sitting mostly idle."

Karen smiled to herself. She didn't expect Harry to become an expert in business, but the times she had spent explaining the financial matters of the Weyr had been time well spent.

"_Thank you, Weyrleader. More dragons will make things easier,"_ replied Polenth.

**Baju, Azerbaijan, Former Soviet Block State, May 4th...**

"Come!"

The door opened and Janus walked into the dingy room.

Jin Tan Mu stared sourly at the man. "Well?"

Janus smiled broadly. "I have spoken with a friend in Russian Navy. He knows where we can put our hands on a boat big enough for a hundred, maybe a hundred and twenty men."

Mu scowled. "We don't have that many men," he snapped.

"Ah, but we can get them. Men are always available for US Dollars," Janus replied, then he gestured to the large trunk sitting off to one side. Janus had seen the money and had thought briefly about killing the Chinese man for it, but he had also seen that Mu was an expert martial artist. He was not someone he wanted to tangle with.

The case contained millions of counterfeit US Dollars. Mu knew that if he paid his mercenaries with that money and they discovered it, they would come after him.

"My friend," Janus said jovially, "I have looked at the area you want us to attack. You and I both know that most won't return from this mission. They'll spend your money on cheap vodka and cheaper whores. If you offer two thousand US Dollars each, I can get you forty, maybe fifty more men. Maybe not as good as Spetznaz, but they know which end of gun to point.

"My boys can cover the exit. The rest would be..." Janus trailed off and smiled knowingly.

Mu nodded in understanding. The rest would be expendable. "I can obtain the weapons. How soon can you obtain these additional men?"

He already had forty former commandos at his disposal, but more men would increase the chances of setting the Imperialists back years in their disgusting efforts.

"Two weeks, and then we'd need some time to train them up and move them near St. Petersburg where my friend can get us a ship," Janus replied.

_A month or more,_ mused Mu. _It can't be helped. Attacking Campbeltown with poorly trained men would be suicide._

"More men would be a help. We'll do it as you suggest, but I will come and join in the training. I want us ready to go before July," Mu replied.

Janus smiled. "Of course, of course! We can use your help with the training."

**Office of the Director, DMLE, Ministry of Magic, May 5th...**

"Kingsley do you have a moment?" asked Stokes.

Kingsley looked up from his desk, grateful for the interruption. "Anything to avoid reading another memo about budget costs! What can I do for you, Ben?"

"You know that Weasley was called to another meeting last night?" asked Benjamin Stokes. He was a senior Inspector of CID and Kingsley's counterpart. His chief task, until recently, had been to see that the returning aurors were trained in proper police procedures. With that task running on its own, he was finally able to turn to his preferred field of investigative crime and running the undercover operations of the DMLE, while Kingsley ran the uniformed aurors.

"I heard that. He sent us an email last night before he left the building," Kingsley replied.

Stokes nodded. "Yes, and he should have sent a message via owl when it was over, but that message never came. I checked with his office. He hasn't shown up for work this morning and no one, not even his father, knows where he is."

Kingsley frowned, stood from behind his desk and walked over to a cabinet against one wall. Opening it, he withdrew a small spinning object, which was puffing black smoke.

"Albus Dumbledore taught me how to make this. It's keyed into Weasley using a bit of his blood and tells me he's still alive, but in bad shape," Kingsley said unhappily.

"Does it say where?" pressed Stokes.

"Unfortunately, no, it doesn't, but he does drink a monthly tracer potion. Assuming he had his May 1st dosage, we have the rest of the month to find him before it wears off."

Ben nodded and walked over to his desk. He flipped through several pages on a clipboard, then he looked up. "One of our other informers told us that Carlos was planning a big shakeup in his organization. You don't suppose Weasley has fallen victim to that?" he asked worriedly.

Kingsley shook his head. "I hope not. Carlos the Gerbil isn't known for leaving many people still breathing after he's done with them. I better tell our uniformed officers to start casting the tracer spell," he said, then he walked towards the door. The tracer potion was very limited in range, so it would have to be cast many times by the Aurors in the hopes of getting a response.

"I'll alert our undercover people and see if they can squeeze some information from their informers," Stokes said. "But what about his father?"

Kingsley paused mid-stride and his shoulders slumped. "Let's give it a few days of searching. I know Arthur very well and I would hate to have to tell him his son lost his life volunteering for a dangerous spy mission for the DMLE."

"Your thingy is still puffing out smoke," Stokes pointed out.

Kingsley nodded. "Yeah, but for how long?" he asked.

Stokes grunted in reply. There really wasn't anything he could say to that.

**Campbeltown Weyr, May 10th...**

"Hi, are you busy?"

Harry looked up to see Sirius and Katherine standing in his office doorway, then he glanced down at the open textbook on his desk and a pile of notes. He sighed and stood. "I could use a break," he said. "My brain is about to turn to mush. I was fine reading about the historical conferences and watching the tapes, but Albert Ford and Lewis Franklin want me to delve deeper into things. They gave me a book on reading body language and psychology."

Harry shook his head. He'd get it eventually, but right now he wasn't sure how he was supposed to interpret the difference between someone scratching an itch and someone being nervous and unsure of their position. Sometimes an itch was just an itch!

He turned to the pair. "So, what's up?"

"Well, we thought you'd like your first driving lesson," Katherine offered. "I have May and Hermione outside in a land rover waiting for us."

Harry immediately perked up at the unexpected and welcome diversion. "Sure!"

Katherine held up a hand to stop him. "Lord Mills is handling the permits. You're still fifteen and the girls are sixteen. That means you're limited to driving at the Weyr only, for now. And I'll personally break..."

Chekiath lifted his head to look at Katherine and a small puff of smoke drifted up from his fist sized nostrils.

Katherine paled. "Erm, I'll be very disappointed in you," she said, trailing off weakly, then she noted Sirius smirking at her, so she turned and glared at him until he flinched and looked away.

"_You don't need to drive one of those noisy machines, Harry. You have me,"_ Chekiath said.

Harry glanced at his dragon, then turned to the others. "I think he's jealous," he said softly, then he turned back to Chekiath. "I'll rarely drive a car Cheki, but it is a skill that most people are expected to learn. Besides, it would be nice to be able to drive to the science buildings when its raining. This way you wouldn't have to go outside."

"_I still don't like it,"_ Chekiath replied. _"A car can't go Between. I can."_

"_I don't like it either,"_ Comaloth added, _"but Hermione's egg mother has fond memories of something called a back seat that has Hermione interested. If it's really that important, I suppose I could tear one out of a car for her."_

Harry smirked to himself. Even inside his office he could hear Hermione's shout of embarrassed outrage. Sirius was chuckling to himself and he looked at Katherine.

"Back seat?" he asked.

"I'll explain later," she replied, blushing slightly, while recalling her own teen encounters in the back seat.

"So? Are we ready?" asked Harry, had who missed the byplay between the two adults.

Harry followed the pair outside where May, Hermione and two other dragons waited. The dragons seemed particularly unhappy with what was happening.

Seeing the military land rover, Harry arched an eyebrow and looked at Katherine, who smiled tightly.

"It's not a tank, but it is better built than the pickup trucks we have here. Also, this is a standard stick. It's better that you learn on a stick before going to an automatic."

Katherine turned to face the three teens and she looked at them seriously. "Driving a car is a big responsibility. There are laws that you must obey for your safety, as well as the safety of others on the road. You must always be aware of where you are and where other cars are in relation to you."

Sirius stood behind Katherine pantomiming. Katherine watched the three teens for a moment, then she quickly spun around and grabbed him by his shirt. With a deft flip Sirius was on the ground looking up at her and blinking stupidly.

"Pay attention, Sirius. This is as much for your benefit as it is for theirs. I'm not going to drive you around for the rest of our lives," Katherine said.

"Point to Katherine," muttered May.

"I'll say. I wonder if she'll teach us to do that too?" Hermione added.

Harry turned to stare at the two girls and swallowed nervously, then something Katherine said penetrated the spike of worry Hermione had created. "Erm, excuse me? Is there something about your relationship that you'd like to share?"

Sirius stood and wrapped one arm around Katherine's waist, pulling her closer. "Sharing is something you do, Harry. We're into a more adult commitment," he said pompously.

Katherine and the two girl broke out into giggles. "Really, Sirius? Then explain your fondness for sock puppets in bed," Katherine replied.

Satisfied that she had won yet another round in their eternal game of one-upsmanship, she opened the door to the driver's side of the Land Rover. "Now, pay attention. I know May and Hermione know most of these controls, but I'll go over them so everyone is clear on the topic."

The others gathered closer while Katherine sat in the driver's seat and started to point out the many controls and what they did.

As she spoke, Chekiath decided to join them. The land rover suddenly lurched violently and there were four sharp bangs. Harry looked up at his dragon, who now looked down at the flattened wheels. _"There's not a lot of room up here for me to be comfortable,"_ the dragon observed. His back was arched high in the air so that he could get all four feet onto the roof of the car.

"Cheki," Harry said with a groan.

Sirius doubled over laughing and Katherine slowly climbed out of the rover and she looked up at the dragon, glaring at him.

"_I'm sorry,"_ Chekiath said. _"I didn't think it would do that."_

"You did that on purpose!" Katherine said.

Harry looked sharply at Katherine and then turned to his dragon. "Cheki?"

"He could have been light as a feather or he could have crushed the rover," Katherine said, throwing her hands up in the air. "That means he deliberately controlled his weight."

"_It was amusing,"_ Trath offered.

Katherine groaned. "How am I going to write this up. Four exploded tires due to jealous dragons?" she demanded. "The supply sergeant at the motor pool is going to buck this up to his boss!"

"_We're not jealous,"_ Comaloth said, correcting her. _"We just don't like these smelly boxes on wheels. They are dangerous. If you're going to teach them use such a thing, then at least use one of those big boxes that we can ride on too."_

"Big... oh! Lorries," May said with a giggle. "Trath, I promise we'll try to learn how to drive a lorry, but first we need to learn and practice on the small cars."

Trath shimmered into view. She was sitting on the roof of the administration building. _"So you need to __learn on something smaller first? Like learning to shag before learning to lay eggs?"_

Sirius barked another laugh and all three teens colored.

"Something like that," muttered Katherine.

**Ministry of Magic, DMLE, May 12th...**

"Kingsley?"

Kingsley looked up from his desk. "Arthur! Do come in!"

Arthur Weasley looked terrible. His robe was rumpled as if he had been sleeping, badly, in his office. He had been informed about his son being missing, and had finally been informed of what his son had been doing for the Ministry.

On the first day of the news he had gone home to inform Molly. Since then, he had been spending his nights in his office, not wanting to be far away when news came of his son.

"Tell me you have good news, Kingsley?" pleaded the balding red head.

"A little Arthur. In cases like this, we usually never have good news. But along with the good news, there is also bad news," Kingsley replied heavily, then he motioned to a chair. "Please have a seat."

Arthur sat nervously on the edge of the chair.

"As we told you, Percy approached us months ago with information that he had been asked to join an anti-ministry group. He offered to provide information about the group for us in exchange for protection if he needed it, and for our endorsement when he was done. I think we both know that your son's standing in the new Ministry was less than stellar and it was only with your intervention that he found a position with the ministry."

Arthur nodded. He knew Percy was rather unpopular with his fellow workers and held with suspicion by many of the department managers. An endorsement from the Director of the MLE would go a long way in helping his son reestablish his career in the Ministry.

"My counterpart, Benjamin Stokes, implemented a few special changes that have allowed us to better help our undercover operatives like Percy. When Percy turned up missing, we immediately began searching for him. Fortunately for us, Percy is a rather meticulous individual, so when we gave him a supply of tracer potion, he took his like clock work."

"Our other informants told us that the man running Percy's group was testing loyalties. Last night we managed to locate Percy, alive, but only barely."

Arthur surged to his feet. "What? Where? Where is he?"

Kingsley held up a hand. "Wait a moment, please, Arthur, and understand what I'm trying to tell you. Your son was buried in a coffin. Were it not for a blood monitor that monitors his life signs, the healers would have declared him dead. He's been dosed with a draught of living death and then ennervated. You know what that does to a person."

Arthur sank back into the chair and for a moment the world seemed to spin around him. Kingsley watched him in alarm as the man paled until he was white as a ghost. He was about ready to summon the department healer.

"What can be done?" Arthur breathed.

Unlike most victims of the draught of living death, with Percy being awake and virtually locked in his own mind, he risked insanity if he couldn't find something to grab hold of and concentrate on. It didn't take long for the mind of such a victim to start hallucinating until it reached a point where it couldn't tell reality from fantasy.

"The counter potion for the draught of living death will take a week to create. In the meantime, I have asked Albus Dumbledore to visit Percy and try to perform a legilimency spell. If he can reach Percy, he can make it known that we understand his condition and are working to cure him. If Albus can reach him and make him understand, then we just have to keep him focused while the healers are working on the cure.

"I can assure you, Arthur, I am bringing all our resources to bear on this. This morning we raided the building where we thought we could find Carlos, but he had already vacated the place and no one know where he's hiding now," Kingsley added. He watched Arthur nod mutely. The man had taken a severe shock and now all he could do was try to get through it.

"Arthur, why don't you go home and talk to your wife. It would be a big help if someone Percy is comfortable with could spend some time with him. Right now, he's in a secured room at St. Mungo's with an auror guard for his protection. I've instructed the guard to allow family members access. Just go to the spell damage ward and they'll point you to his room," Kingsley said gently. "If Albus can reach Percy with his spell, then your son is going to need his family very much to stave off the madness."

The door opened and Albus walked in looking very serious. He took in the scene with Kingsley's grim expression and Arthur's pale, trembling form and knew instantly that Kingsley had told him the bad news.

"Arthur, I have spoken to Minister O'Hearny and he expects you to attend to your son. The government knows of his efforts and wants you to be with him," Albus said, "Go home and break the news to Molly. Let her know that as bad as this is, it could have been so much worse. I will meet up with you at the hospital in a few hours."

Albus stepped closer to Arthur and gripped his shoulder tightly with his hand. "Go, Arthur. Your family need you."

Arthur stood shakily and nodded. "Yes, yes, I'll talk to Molly. She's been beside herself with worry since Percy vanished. Maybe I'll call Minerva and ask for the others to come home as well," he rambled.

"I'm sure Minerva would be willing to allow that," Albus replied.

The badly shaken man nodded again and walked from the room.

Once he was gone, Albus turned to Shacklebolt. "How bad is this?"

Shacklebolt leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his bald head. "It's not good, Albus. We had been hearing rumors about Carlos and his group planning a major move. Percy was our only inside source who was high enough up to have learned about it. Even if we cure Percy, he can't go back to working for Carlos again. He's been outed as a spy and someone decided to use him as an example."

Albus nodded. "Yes, it is a particularly brutal message they are sending. Percy is a resilient lad. I'm sure I'll be able to convince him that we do know he's alive and he's not hallucinating. If I know Molly, she'll sit by his bed until she collapses, reading anything she can get her hands on just to keep him focused."

Shacklebolt smiled at the image. He could easily imagine Molly doing that. "She won't be the only one. After I explained to our people what Percy was doing, they all want to help. As far as my aurors are concerned, he's one of ours now and we'll be there to help. In the meantime, we have a countrywide alert out for Carlos and his people. We missed him at his old place, but we didn't try until after we realized that Percy was missing."

"Still, Kingsley, your people are to be commended. You knew he was alive and in trouble and found him fairly quickly," Albus said softly. "The Minister wanted me to point that out to you and to give you his personal thanks. You and your counterpart have totally turned around the old DMLE and made it effective again."

Kingsley darkened and nodded, embarrassed by the praise. "Thank you, sir," he said quietly.

Albus smiled. "I best be off. I think I would like some quiet time with young Percy before his mother shows up."

Shacklebolt chuckled and gave the man a wave, then he turned back to the papers on his desk. It was all the information they knew about Carlos and his organization and he was certain that somewhere in the mess of apparently unrelated facts was the key to finding Carlos and bringing him down.

**St. Mungo's High Security Ward, May 12th...**

Albus looked down at the form lying on the bed and shuddered slightly. The man's eyes were open, and for all he knew, Percy could see him. It was known that victims in his condition could hear, which was why the most common treatment was to talk to the patient until the counter potion could be brewed.

"It is a shame that potion is so finicky, Percy," he muttered. He bent over and locked his gaze on Percy. "Legilimens."

Albus seemed to drop into darkness. The drop seemed endless and then ended abruptly. He grimaced in pain. Even in someone's mind, pain was still pain and his knees did not appreciate being dropped from a height.

It was equally dark in all directions, leaving him with no visible reference, but a moaning sound could be heard coming from over this left shoulder. Turning towards the sound, the old mage shuffled forward with outstretched arms.

It seemed that he walked for several miles before the sound became louder. "Percy!" he shouted into the darkness.

The sound stopped for a moment, then started again.

Heartened, he shouted again. "Percy! Percy Weasley!"

The moaning stopped. "Is someone there? Why can't I see you?" asked a tremulous voice.

Albus smiled slightly. Percy was still in dire danger of losing his sanity, but it hadn't happened yet. Perhaps they'd been lucky and had found him in time, or perhaps young Percy was made of stronger stuff than anyone suspected. He wouldn't discount it. It wouldn't be the first time someone underestimated a Weasley and was surprised.

"Percy, it's Albus Dumbledore. Keep talking. I am trying to find you in this darkness. Then we have much to discuss."

"Headmaster Dumbledore? Where is this place? Where is everyone?"

Albus paused and replied to Percy, then he quickly took off in the direction of his voice. He would repeat that process several times before he nearly stumbled over him lying prone on the dark floor.

Percy sat up and gripped Albus' hand in a death grip, then he wept in relief. "I kept hearing people but when I shouted no one replied. I thought I was dead or something."

Albus pulled the young man to his feet and gently pat his back. "I know, my boy. It's a terrible thing that has happened, but there is hope. You have been hearing the voices right?"

"Yes, sir," Percy replied, then he sniffed.

"Good, good. Listen to me carefully, Percy. Someone has done something very cruel to you, but we can fix it. I'm not really here at the moment. Not physically. I am using mind magic to communicate with your mind. It will take six days to make the potion that will free you from this prison your mind has been forced into. You need to be very strong and listen to the voices.

"Your family has been called to your side. They will be spending the next week talking to you, reading to you, playing the wireless for you, doing everything they can to give you an anchor so that you retain your sanity."

"A week?" Percy said faintly.

Albus nodded, then frowned. In the blackness, Percy would not see him nod. "Yes, a week dear boy. But you can be cured. Hold onto that thought and hold onto the voices of your family. They will be your anchor."

"You won't stay with me?"

Albus couldn't stop the tears that slid down his own face. "I wish I could, dear boy. But even I cannot keep this spell going for that length of time."

Percy straightened and squared his shoulders. "A week isn't too bad," he murmured. "Will you take a message to my parents? Tell them..." He choked up for a second then he continued. "Tell them I'm sorry to worry them, but I was doing what I thought was right."

Albus pat his shoulder gently. He could feel his spell starting to waiver. "You'll be able to tell them yourself, lad. Stay strong. You're a fine example of a true Gryffindor."

Albus felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over him and suddenly he found himself slipping away from Percy. He was back in the hospital room and a pair of arms slid until his armpits and pulled him to a chair.

"Molly, get a healer or a medi-witch," Arthur snapped.

"I'm fine, Arthur. Wait, Molly," he panted. "Just give an old man a moment. Reaching out to young Percy and explaining his situation took more out of me than I thought it would."

The two Weasleys watched Albus for a moment, then he smiled. "Your son is made of sterner stuff than anyone knew. I feared that I would be telling you that your son had already lost his sanity, but he is holding on and now he understands. I explained his situation to him and he knows people are working on a cure."

"You spoke to him," Molly asked, "Oh, Arthur. He must be so frightened." She wrung her hands and stared at the still form on the bed.

"I did and he knows you'll be speaking with him. He knows that his family will be the anchor he will cling to. He misses you deeply and is sorry for worrying you," Albus replied.

Molly's eyes filled with tears and Arthur took her into his arms, then he turned to face the bed. "Percy," he said in a loud voice, "your mother and I are very proud of you and what you were doing. Hold on there, son. Someone from the family will be with you every minute that you have to wait."

He turned to look at Albus. "I spoke with Minerva and she'll be escorting Ginny, Ron and the twins here in the morning. She's excused them from classes."

Albus nodded and slowly stood. He was seriously tired and wanted nothing more than a chance to lay down. "I will leave you now. I wish I could stay but..."

Molly broke from her husband's embrace and gave Albus a gentle, tearful hug. "Thank you, Albus. From all of us."

He nodded and pat her on the arm, then he walked tiredly from the room.

Arthur watched the man leave and frowned. He couldn't recall ever seeing Dumbledore look so old and tired before.

Molly sat in the chair next to Percy and pulled out a book. "You're a little old for 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump', but I do remember a book you read many times from your great Uncle's collection," Molly said with a slight smile.

"Moby Dick, chapter one," she said, then she paused and tapped the book with her wand. It opened to the correct spot and floated in front of her. Arthur settled into a seat next to her and placed his hand over hers.

"_Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world..._"

Percy lay motionless in the bed, confined within his mind and yet once again he was sailing the seas with Captain Ahab, thanks to Molly Weasley and Herman Melville.

**North Fambridge, Essex, England, May 13th...**

To the ordinary muggle, the building appeared to be a ruin that was at least one hundred years old. To a magical, it was hidden entirely behind an unplottable ward and had been hidden for the past three hundred years. No one knew it existed, except for the members of Anna's family, and she was the only living member left.

No one knew of it's existence until Anna broke a promise she had made to her grandmother on her deathbed. She and Carlos had moved into the home on May 8th when word came via his network informing him that the British had issued a capture or kill order on him.

At first, Carlos had been extremely dubious about the building when Anna took him there using a family portkey. Even to his jaded eye it looked like little more than a ramshackle hut. To his surprise, the interior was huge and better appointed than the suite he had occupied in Knockturn Alley.

Warmly decorated, the interior was different than what the exterior suggested. Anna shrugged and told him her family had been living there and running their business from the location for the past four hundred years.

"_What did your family do?" exclaimed Carlos._

"_A little of this, a little of that," she replied, idly brushing some dust from a lamp shade._

"_Anna," he said warningly._

_She shrugged. "My family has a colorful past, Carlos. If it's illegal, they've done it. Gun running, slavery, kidnapping, contract killing, fencing. My grandmother ran one of the largest brothels this side of London." she replied with a proud smile. "I even have several great great grandfathers who made their fortunes racking up a higher kill count than you as privateers. We've never been a magically powerful family, but it only takes a little magic to really succeed at muggle or wizard crime."_

Carlos sat in a chair he found comfortable in the sitting room and looked out the window. This wasn't the first time a law enforcement agency was out for his blood and he was certain it wouldn't be the last.

He glanced down at the charmed book in his lap and reread the entry carefully again, then he shook his head.

"Carlos, since we arrived here, you've been looking at that book. What is so important about it?" Anna asked. She placed a tray of drinks on the table between them and took a seat on the sofa.

He caressed the spine of the book for a moment, then he held it up. He wouldn't explain it to her, but the simple gesture nullified the lethal hex on the book. "This, my dear, is how I pass orders to Alberto and he passes information back to me. He has a book just like this one and what he writes in that book, also appears here, just as what I write appears in his book."

Anna blinked in surprise. "Alberto can write and read?" she exclaimed. The man was a huge, solid muscle from head to toe and gave the distinct impression of having his skull filled with mostly bone.

Carlos smiled. "Alberto is smarter that many realize. Very early on he learned that people underestimated him due to his appearance. It might surprise you to know he holds a mastery in charms, which he uses as part of his private entertainment.

Anna shivered slightly. Alberto was a sadist of the highest order who reveled in pushing people to the limits of their endurance for pain. He tortured Percy for a full day before shoving the draught of living death down his throat. Anna didn't like the implications of someone masking their true abilities like Alberto did.

"So, what does Alberto have to say," she asked, gesturing towards the book.

Carlos dropped his gaze and considered the book in his lap for a moment. "It seems that our spy might have been more important than we originally expected. I was certain he was just a little informant, dropping a few secrets here and there, but the response to our treatment of him suggests otherwise. In short, we have kicked over a hornets nest and they aren't happy about it. Alberto and half of our network are in hiding."

"And the other half?" Anna asked warily.

"Some might be hiding, unable to contact their cell leadership, but I fear we lost quite a few. Fortunately, only no one higher up than our little informant," Carlos said with a touch of anger.

Anna reached for her tea and added a little bit of fortifier from the whiskey decanter, then she sipped thoughtfully. "How does this affect our plans?"

Carlos scowled. "It's not good. We lost some of our best muscle in kicking this hornets nest. If we kick it again, we need to be prepared to flee the country," he said, then he paused for a moment. "Perhaps that is a better idea, anyway. We go forward with our plans and, once they're in motion, we escape to France. We can lay low and rebuild our network."

"If that's the plan then we'll need to make a change to it," Anna said firmly.

He turned a hard gaze on her. "Oh?"

"Let Alberto or one of the others lead the attack. You are too important to risk," she said, refusing to back down.

Carlos contemplated that statement. _Alberto would certainly enjoy being able to vent,_ he mused. _These past months of skulking have rattled him, He prefers a quick kill of an assassination, rather than trying __to ferment a revolt. I can easily send him on his way and know he'll be his usual efficient self and other than me, no one else that's left is as good in a fight._

_But what about Anna? Do I bring her with me or dispose of her?_

Carlos smiled and nodded at Anna. "I will consider your suggestion, my dear. It does have some merit," he said smoothly.

Carlos the Gerbil was not known for leaving loose ends, and Anna was definitely a loose end. The question for him now was whether she was worth saving.

Anna smiled, but already the gears were turning in her head. She recognized the signs. The ship wasn't sinking, but it was heading into dangerous waters and then it would be every woman for herself.

**Campbeltown Weyr, May 15th...**

Harry closed the book, then turned back to his computer and typed the last paragraph to the paper. Satisfied, he sent a copy of the file to Lewis Franklin and a second copy to Albert Ford. Franklin was officially tutoring Harry on diplomacy and politics, while Ford had been hired as the Weyr's official negotiator. Harry had also asked Ford to double check his work with Franklin and he had agreed.

He stood, then stretched. He had spent his morning working on Weyr projects before switching to his studies in the afternoon and now he was knackered from the effort. It was a weekend and most of the Weyr were relaxing or working on minor things and just generally taking it easy.

"I've been sitting too long," he muttered.

"_You have,"_ agreed Chekiath, _"but you're done for the day now, yes?"_

Harry glanced up towards the roof where he knew Cheki was sunning himself. "Yes, I'm done now. I needed to get that report done for Lewis."

"_Good, then we can take our walk,"_ Chekiath announced.

Harry exited the administration building and Chekiath flew down from the roof and joined him. The pair walked across the taxiway and headed in the direction of the science complex. Construction of the complex was largely complete. Now people were involved in their projects or involved in the installation of the power station. That wouldn't be fully complete for a few more weeks.

"_Harry, I've been thinking about something,"_ Chekiath said.

"Oh? What about, mate?"

"_Do you remember when the Lady Holder said it was hard to separate a rider from their dragon?"_

Harry smiled at the memory of Her Majesty's visit to the Weyr. "I remember," he replied.

"_Well, you see, if it's hard to separate a rider from a dragon, then aren't a couple like Ronan and Karen also illegal? It does involve two dragons, so four people are involved."_

Harry stopped and turned to stare at the dragon. What Chekiath was suggesting was central to the heart of the Weyr. Ronan and Karen were a couple, and Garanoth had taken Neruth as consort. What Chekiath was saying was a simple statement - the Weyr would never have relationships that involved just two people. He didn't know why he didn't realize it before. He had been telling everyone for months to consider the dragons as funny looking people. Now Chekiath was saying that even Ronan and Karen involved two other people - their dragons.

"Oh, wow," he muttered. Legally, British law might not see it that way, but the Weyr would. "I never really looked at it that way, but you're right, Cheki."

"_So what do we do about it?"_

"I'm not sure. I mean, there's not a lot that can be done when you think about it. We can't make the world change their laws just to suit us."

"_Maybe you should ask Sirius to find you one of those druid persons?"_ Chekiath offered.

Harry smiled. "After the Weyr goes public, mate. We have too much on our plate as it is."

"_All right."_

The pair walked along for a few more minutes in silence and then Cheki said, _"Look, there's Shiny Healer and his family."_

Harry paused and glanced over where Cheki indicated. He smiled at the sight. Issac Sheppard had moved his family into the Weyr. His name came from the fact that the sunlight reflected off his large bald spot. Although a wizard and a muggle trained physician, his wife was a muggle and his little daughter was definitely a witch with a surprising amount of control over her accidental magic and a fondness for coloring charms.

It didn't help that Sirius was very taken with the budding prankster and had carefully coached her until she could pick the color she wanted.

Harry had been oblivious to all this until one day he work up to find his house and all the houses on his block had been changed to a wonderfully bright neon blue. Just looking out his window gave him a headache.

Issac spotted Harry and Chekiath nearby and waved to them, so Harry changed course and walked over to where he stood with his wife Margret and his daughter Frances.

"Hello, Issac. Out for a walk too?" he asked.

Chekiath moved around him and craned his long neck until his head was right in front of Frances. The little girl giggled and started to scratch Cheki's eye ridges to the dragon's intense pleasure.

Issac glanced at the sky. "It is a nice day for it. Come the summer, you'll not want to be out here in the heat."

Harry nodded and turned to little Frances. "How are you today, Frances?"

The little girl insisted that everyone call her Frances. Even her parents had dropped the more familiar Frannie a year ago when she suddenly announced only little girls would be called Frannie. In a way, it reminded Harry very much of Hermione, who would throttle anyone trying to shorten her name or saddle her with a nickname. Harry knew that Comaloth sometimes called her Mione, but no one else could get away with it, not even Harry.

"I'm fine, Harry," she replied with a big smile, then Chekiath pushed against her hand and she turned back to the more important job of scratching Chekiath. "You are very itchy today, Cheki," she scolded the huge dragon. "Have you let Sirius use his itching powder on you?"

"_I don't think so. I just like it when you scratch my eye ridges,"_ Chekiath replied seriously.

Harry made a mental note to stay away from Sirius, then he glanced over to Margret Sheppard and frowned slightly. "I keep telling myself that I should speak to you, Mrs. Sheppard."

The tall woman blinked in surprise. "Oh? What about?"

"You're a barrister, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Why?"

Harry scratched at the back of his neck. "Karen was telling me the other day that we should consider hiring a company to handle any legal issues. She says that after we go public there's going to be an intense interest in the Weyr and dragons. And it's not just Campbeltown. Each Weyr we set up is going to need some sort of legal help, and that needs to be coordinated from here."

"Harry," Margret said softly, "I'm only a junior associate of my firm. I'm not even a partner. I can't make those kind of decisions. And I work mostly in family law. You'd need someone with contract law, and government regulations and a whole host of other things."

Harry nodded. "I figured that out already. However, you've been cleared to know about the Weyr. You could be the one coordinating things for us with your firm handling most of the work, at least here in the UK. All I'm asking is that you think about it. Karen is practically having kittens because she knows the very next day after the Prime Minister announces our existence we're going to be swamped. Don't make your decision right away. Talk to Karen and Lord Mills. They've been bugging me about the Weyr needing this and you're the only person I know that's involved in law."

When Margret nodded slowly, Issac laughed, then shook his head. "You did say that you wanted to take advantage of the free housing we have here. Now you know what the price is going to be."

Margret smiled at him. Harry was offering her a ticket to senior partnership in her firm literally overnight. The amount of work for the company would be huge, and so would the payoff.

"I'll have to talk to one of the senior partners about this, Harry," she said quietly.

"Do so, but in vague terms. If you can attract his interest enough, Lord Mills can see about getting him cleared to visit the Weyr," Harry said.

Margret looked over to Issac, who smiled encouragingly. He truly liked working here at the Weyr. It allowed him to practice muggle medicine and dabble in magic without hiding it. It also allowed Frannie, and she would always be Frannie to her daddy, to be open about what she was.

With that solved, Harry gestured towards the science buildings several hundred meters away. "I was walking towards the science buildings, if you'd like to join me?"

The two adults nodded and Harry reached down and scooped up Frances and deposited her behind Chekiath's fourth neck ridge. She was too small to sit in Harry's spot, but the neck was narrow enough there to accommodate a very smart five year old witch.

Frances laughed and bent over to hug Cheki. The huge dragon rumbled with mirth and fell into step with the others.

Harry walked besides Chekiath and he looked up to see the small girl laughing on the dragon's neck. "You know, we're going to have to expand our school," he said softly. He gestured towards Frances. "Someday not too far into the future the riders are going to have their own families."

"Why not just send them to a regular school?" asked Margret. "Once the Weyr is publicly known, the children could be easily bussed to a nearby school."

Harry smiled. "Your daughter is a witch, and according to Spath, possibly a potential candidate. It's really too early to tell, but he thinks she will be a rider some day. Would you send your daughter to a school where she has to hide who and what she is? Hermione's parents spent a small fortune on some very painful tests for their daughter because they didn't know she was a witch. Here in the Weyr, she can be a little girl with an extra gift and no one would consider it strange."

"It's a good point, Harry, but I wouldn't do anything just for us. Frannie can go to a regular school next year. The riders won't be having children yet and even if they did, it would be years before you need an elementary school," Issac said.

"Frances!" Frannie said from her perch on Cheki.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Issac said with a smile for his daughter.

Harry chuckled, then scowled at a group of people standing in front of building fifteen, the main science building. "I wonder what's going on over there?" he muttered.

He switched directions and the small family followed behind him as he quickened his pace. There was a large group of people milling around in the front of the building and several men seemed to be setting up cameras on tripods pointed at a large 'X' someone had marked on the roadway in front of the building.

Spotting Sir Robert, he walked over to where the old man stood leaning on his cane and watching intently. "Sir Robert?"

The old man looked up and smiled. "Ah, Harry. You're just in time!"

"In time for what?"

"Places everyone! Twenty seconds!" shouted a technician who had been aiming a camera.

"We're testing a portkey on a dragon," Sir Robert said, then he glanced at his watch.

Harry stared at the man, then looked dumbly at the large marking on the road. There were a few seconds when the only sounds that could be heard came from the far end of compound where the new regiment was moving in, then suddenly Comaloth appeared with Hermione on her back. The large dragon staggered a few steps and abruptly sat down. Hermione was busy being sick on her perch and not really caring about the mess she was making.

Comaloth moaned and closed her eyes. _"The world is still spinning,"_ she whined.

Chekiath stepped forward, crooning at his consort. Issac reached up and removed Frannie from his neck, then he handed his daughter to her mother.

Harry broke from his shock and sprinted forward. With a wave of a hand he vanished the mess Hermione made, then gently floated her from her seat and own into his waiting arms.

Issac stepped up to his side and checked her quickly, then jerked his head towards the building. "Let's get her inside, but I think she'll be fine."

Harry nodded and looked at Cheki. _"Stay with Comaloth. Bespeak to Trath and tell her May is needed at Building Fifteen,"_ he sent.

"_Yes, Harry."_

A minute later, he had Hermione stretched out on a couch in one of the offices. "What's wrong with her?" he demanded of Issac.

Issac ran his wand over her, casting a few charms. He was a muggle doctor who dabbled in magic healing and knew just enough diagnostic spells to help in this case. Finally, he straightened up. "She's magically exhausted. If I had to guess, I would say that most of her magic was used to power the portkey. Dragons might be inherently magical, but they can't cast spells, so Comaloth couldn't power the portkey by herself. On the other hand, Hermione can cast spells, and she was sitting on the dragon wearing only her flight suit. She probably had direct skin contact, so the portkey used her magic."

Harry ran a hand through his hair and stared down at Hermione. He wasn't sure what bothered him the most, that she would risk her dragon, or herself in an experiment.

"Comaloth, are you all right?" he asked.

"_Yes, Weyrleader. The world has stopped moving. Is Hermione well? She seemed to fall asleep very quickly even after she got sick."_

"She's going to be fine. All she needs is some sleep," Harry replied, then he glanced at Issac, who nodded in confirmation. "Comaloth, if May insists, go to the infirmary to be checked over. Otherwise, go home. They'll be no more experiments today. I'll bring Hermione home as soon as Doctor Sheppard says she can be moved."

"She can be moved now, Harry. She's just sleeping," Issac replied. "She'll probably sleep most of the day. I'll send an elf by later tonight with a potion to help her sleep through the night, this way she doesn't get turned around."

Harry nodded and carefully scooped her up, then cast a wandless featherlight charm to make it easier for her to be carried. "I'll take her home then," he said and walked from the room, leaving Issac staring at his retreating back. The doctor knew Harry was angry, but he wasn't sure who his anger was directed at.

Several hours later, Hermione finally woke enough to hear the soft voices around her. She moaned slightly and opened her eyes. She was in the bed she normally shared with Harry and May! And both of them were sitting in chairs that someone had moved into the bedroom from the living room. "What's happening?"

"Awake, are we?" asked May.

She nodded and blinked sleepily. "Why am I in bed?"

"What I'd like to know is why you decided to risk yourself and your dragon?" Harry asked a bit coldly.

Suddenly she sat up. "Coma!?" she gasped.

May held up a hand. "Relax, she's fine. She had a major case of vertigo, but it quickly cleared up. She's in her bed and Cheki is watching over her."

"_I'm fine, my heart,"_ said Comaloth.

"Well?"

Hermione met Harry's gaze and she realized that he was very angry at her. "Harry, I..."

Harry stood and glared at her.

"Harry," May chided gently, "give her a few minutes to get her bearings before you jump down her throat. Why don't you go fix us some tea."

Harry looked at May, then over to Hermione again. Finally, he nodded and walked from the room. Since Dobby always had tea ready for them, he knew she wanted him out of the room so she could talk to Hermione first.

May watched Harry close the door behind him, then she turned back to Hermione with a frown.

"He's afraid, Hermione, and you're going to have to be very honest with him about this," May said intently. "He's angry that you and your dragon were sickened in a poorly conceived experiment and he's afraid because you took a big risk. By his reckoning, he nearly lost both of you. The Weyrleader in him is angry, and the man we both love is terrified because he nearly lost you."

"I thought it would be useful if we could move an injured dragon via portkey," Hermione admitted.

"It would be useful, but tell me this. Do you believe Harry when he tells you that he loves you? I know he says it to you as much as he tells me."

"Of course I do!" she protested.

"Then what would he do when someone he loves hurts themselves? You took a big risk today. Doctor Sheppard says that a witch can die from exhaustion. He loves you and you risked your life over an idea that turned out to be a bad one. He won't admit it, but he's afraid of losing you, he's just as afraid for me, but I'm not the one taking the risks here." May said.

Hermione looked down at the blanket in her lap for a moment. She finally started to speak when the door opened again and Harry walked in levitating a tray behind him. May stood and took her cup from the tray, then she gave Harry a pointed look. He sighed and nodded to her.

"I'll be in the living room going over my notes," May announced, then she left the room.

Harry let the tray with the two remaining mugs float to the night table. He sat on the edge of the bed and suddenly grabbed her into a crushing hug. Tears sprang to her eyes and she clutched him tightly. "Don't ever do that again." he said intensely.

She nodded against his shoulder.

Finally, he released her and reached for her cup, then handed it to her.

He leaned back. "Talk," he said.

She dropped her gaze. "I thought it was a good idea, Harry. If we could move an injured dragon via portkey it would make things easier for the Weyr. I didn't realize that the portkey would be so violent, or that it would tap my magic to power itself."

He nodded slowly, having figured that out already. "Now, what's the real reason?" he asked.

She blinked at him and looked away. "I just wanted to be as useful to you as May is," she whispered. This was the Weyrleader speaking, looking for the deeper motivation.

Harry frowned. "You're not May. You're only sixteen years old. Like me, you're still going to school and few of us know what we're going to be doing once we're finished. May knows what she'll be doing, but she's the rare one among us. Right now, you're one of the better Wing seconds, and my own personal tutor when it comes to magic."

She smiled to herself. That much was true. Whenever she learned a new spell, she sat down with Harry and took the time to teach him how to cast it. He might not understand the theory behind the spell, but with his power, he usually mastered every spell she taught him.

"You're already incredibly useful to me," he continued in a softer tone. "Both you and May see things from different angles and you both offer good advice all the time. And I won't even go into what we do behind closed doors. All my life I wanted someone to love me, now I have that in two beautiful women. But today was a reminder of just how fragile what we have really is. You could have died!"

Harry looked away and took a deep breath, then he continued. "Two years ago I would have laughed if someone told me I'd find someone as pretty as you could love me. I still can't believe that I ended up with you and May. It still scares me silly that I'm going to do something wrong and ruin what we have."

"But, Harry..."

He reached over and placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "Have I ever broken a promise to you?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Then believe me when I say the Weyr will help you become whatever you want to become. We are going to need so many things, from doctors to solicitors to engineers, and yes even witches or wizards to brew potions and enchant our crossbow ammunition. Your idea was a good one, but you talked to Sir Robert and his people, who thought it was worth trying. Had you asked me, I would have said I didn't know and sent an email to Albus or even Croaker, asking for their opinion," he said firmly. "I'm not going to say anymore about the subject, but I want you to know that I'm not happy with what you did. You risked your life and your dragon, neither of which I want to lose. I've lost too many people that I care for already."

Harry stood and looked down at her. "Now, instead of sending you off to paint the fence, you'll spend the next few hours giving Comaloth a good oiling and brushing. Chekiath will make sure you do a good job," he said with a touch of a smirk.

She smiled slightly and nodded. She was very relieved to avoid a paint brush, and taking care of Comaloth was something she enjoyed doing. Harry was letting her off easy because he knew she'd be brutally hard on herself for trying a risky experiment and she was still tired from the experience.

"Lordeth?" he said aloud, calling to Wayne Hopkins' dragon.

"_Yes, Weyrleader?"_ came a startled reply.

"Will you tell Wayne that I want him to make sure all experiments involving dragons and magic are to be approved by the Weyr council or myself personally from now on?"

"_Of course, Weyrleader."_

Harry gave Hermione a weak smile and a shrug, then he turned and walked from their bedroom. She sighed and turned in the bed. "I guess that wasn't a very smart idea," she admitted to herself.

"_I really didn't like the way the world moved,"_ Comaloth complained, _"but it's stopped now which is good. I couldn't walk very well when the world was tumbling like that. I don't know how everyone managed to keep standing while I couldn't."_

**ICW Headquarters, Paris, France, May 20th...**

Albus closed the folder and slid it into a bottomless bag Minerva had given him for Christmas many years ago. The ICW was about to meet to hear the progress made by Yoshi and ICW to bring the conflict between Italy and Greece to a close.

Standing, he glanced around at the small office that was identical in form and function to the office that every delegate had. The only exception to that was the Supreme Mugwump office, which had the most comfortable foot stool that massaged one's feet under the desk. He so enjoyed that comfort, but had lost it when the British Ministry had resigned his position under Fudge.

He started to make his way to the door of his office when he paused and frowned. Someone had just erected substantial anti-apparation wards!

Without considering, he cast a shield just as the door to his office exploded inwards. His shield protected him from the blast, but he was still pushed back into the room and his hip smashed into the side of his heavy oak desk. There was a snapping sound and pain flared intensely. He fell to the floor.

Somewhere in the distance he could hear shouts of alarm and the sound of spell fire. He aimed for the door and with a negligent wave, the scraps of door still hanging on the wall transformed into a rock wall. It wasn't thick, but it would slow his attackers down.

"It is madness to attack here," he muttered, then he tried to sit up. Gasping in pain and realizing he was on the brink of blacking out, he did the only thing he could think of. "Fawkes," he gasped, then his eyes closed and he slumped to the floor, overcome by the pain of a badly broken hip.

The stone wall crumbled away and just as men rushed into the room, Fawkes flamed out with Dumbledore securely held in his talons. The men cursed loudly and attempted to activate emergency portkeys, but the security detail had already closed off that means of escape.

They would have to try to fight their way out against some of the best hit wizards in the world.

**Hangar Two, Campbeltown Weyr, May 20th...**

Harry sat in his place just in front of Chekiath's shoulders. In front of him was his Wing, Wing One.

"Today we'll start practicing evasive flying in an environment where people are using missiles," Harry said to the nervous riders. "These smoke rockets will create a lot more smoke than a missile would, but if you're careful and observant, all you need is two seconds to alert your dragon to jump Between.

"Fighter pilots are taught to rely on their equipment and their eyes. Unfortunately, you don't have missile detecting equipment, but you do have two sets of eyes, and one pair has vision far better than your own," Harry said with a smile. "Dragons, I know you've been trained to not go Between without a visualization from your rider. This is one of the few exceptions to that rule. In fact, I want each dragon to randomly go Between so that your rider will become accustomed to that."

"_Jump to where, Weyrleader?"_ asked Garanoth.

"Here, or if the fight is here, then to another Weyr, like Disko or Maziang," Harry replied. "The point is, you dragons can see better than your rider and you might not have enough time to warn your rider. For the sake of yourself and your rider, you must be able to evade instantly. Am I clear about this?"

"_Very clear, Weyrleader,"_ replied several dragons.

"In today's exercise, we will fly up to about a thousand feet. The smoke rockets will be fired by Sergeant Nichols and his people from the firing range. For today's exercise, they will be mostly fired away from the wing formation. We'll be looping around the range. And in case you're worried, these rockets have a very limited range. We'll be at least three hundred feet beyond where the rockets can reach, but don't get smug about that. I will be ordering the Wing to lower altitudes as the exercise progresses."

Harry leaned back and noted May looking rather frightened. _"Trath, please tell your rider that nothing is going to happen to her,"_ he sent privately.

"_She says she knows, but it doesn't stop her from being scared, Weyrleader."_

Harry smiled at that. May was a true Gryffindor, even if she wasn't a witch. Somethings, like these smoke rockets and the fact that they were drilling to repel an attack, scared the daylights out of her, but she pressed on in spite of her fear. It was a quality that he found much more admirable than the usual Gryffindor urge to rush into battle with no regard for one's own life or limb.

And if she needed to be held closely afterward, he didn't mind at all.

It was a real difference between Hermione and May. Hermione would charge in, then spend hours afterward reexamining her actions and analyzing them to pieces. May would do what she had to do and then seek reassurance from someone close to her.

"Dragons, eons ago, your ancestors dodged thread by ducking Between. We don't have thread, but the idea is the same. By ducking away from a missile, you save yourselves and your rider. Now, let's do this," he said.

Harry smiled again and pumped his fist twice, ordering the wing aloft.

"Cheki, we'll head south until we're near the main gate. Once the wing is in formation, we'll swing around and head for the firing range. We'll make our first pass at one thousand feet, then a second one at eight hundred. Don't let the riders know we're bleeding altitude."

"_Yes, Harry,"_ replied the dragon. Harry could hear his dragon ordering the wing and knew they would be fine. The second pass would still be out of range of the rockets, but close enough to alarm some of the riders.

Nearly an hour into the drill, Harry was startled by Spath calling him.

"_Spath?"_

"_Wolf needs you to land immediately, Weyrleader. He brings word of an attack against White Beard,"_ Spath replied.

Harry frowned. _"We'll be there in a minute. Cheki, tell Garanoth that I said Ronan should take the wing, then land us,"_ he sent.

Harry heard Cheki echo his commands, then he broke formation with a sharp bank and peeled away from the wing, heading towards the administration building. A knot of worry formed in his belly when he saw Sirius, James, Remus and Katherine standing in front of the building, waiting for him.

Cheki flared out and dropped to the tarmac and Harry hurriedly slid down from his spot. He landed lightly and trotted over to the waiting adults.

"Harry, we got word from Hogwarts that Albus arrived there a short while ago thanks to Fawkes. Timath and his team have been watching the school. She heard Fawkes arrive in distress and asked Poppy what happened. Apparently, Poppy isn't used to having a dragon cling to the wall just outside of her hospital ward, but once she got over her shock, she explained that Albus had been injured in an attack. He wasn't even supposed to be in the country today," Remus explained.

Harry scowled and turned back to Chekiath. "Cheki, call in the wing. I don't know what is going on, but I want all of our manned dragons on standby. Call all of our magical riders to assemble in front of Hangar Two. Albus Dumbledore has been a friend of the Weyr since the beginning and we'll stand with him, even if it just means sitting around waiting for news from Poppy."

"_Yes, Harry."_

"What are you planning to do, Harry?" asked Sirius.

He shrugged, "Now? Not much. We'll go to Hogwarts and wait. There's nothing else that can be done now. As much as he angered me by his inaction while I was a student, since I impressed Cheki, he has done nothing but help the Weyr as much as he could. I, no, we, owe it to him to be there."

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look, then Sirius said, "I'll get my jacket."

"Me too," added Remus.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- First off, we're sorry that this chapter is a little smaller, but when I was cutting it from my mainfile there was a critical section that I couldn't cut up. That meant this chapter ended up being just 30 pages long instead of the usual 33-35 pages.

- We've been asked what does the Dragon flag look like. It is very simple. Each Weyr selects their own signature colors, but the flag itself is a silhouette of a dragon and rider in flight. For Campbeltown, its a black image against a white background. The colors are also used on the flight and dress uniforms as a way of identifying the home Weyr for the rider.

- A lot of people seem to have problems with the issue of autonomy. It isn't that difficult really. The Weyrs are still bound by the laws of their host countries. They may have internal laws that allow things but in the case of Harry/May/Hermione, Harry cannot simply declare it legal and expect Britain to say "Okay, we dig it." It's just not going to happen. Right now, the Weyr needs to play nice with their host countries and bucking social mores is not playing nice.

- Shaggy37 wants to know if there are other cross overs planned after this story is done. Sadly, no. We have no more crossover plots planned. We've been at this since 2005 and the well is pretty much run dry for Harry Potter. This isn't the end of our writing, but I intend to try our hand at something original for a change. There is still another book to get through before anyone has to worry about that. And yes, this book is complete at this point.

- This topic was covered extensively in our Yahoo group, but I'll repeat it here for those that do not belong to the group. Dragons are basically invisible to the human eye, but not to man's machines. There was a video shown in book 1 in which the dragons were clearly visible as a bright hot spot in the thermal cameras. Infrared seeking missiles would not have a problem locking onto that heat source and never know, or care if it were the exhaust of a Mig-29 or a dragon. Satellite thermal imaging does show a bunch of bright dots, but dragons are poor heat conductors, being cold blooded. So they appear as dots without any shape. Couple that with not appearing at all in a visible light camera and you'll find many photo interpretative analysts thinking the satellite is malfunctioning.

The biggest issue here is Harry's strong desire to keep the dragons out of any conflict. While the Weyr may have uniforms for special occasions they are not a military unit and never will be. That's why the dragons haven't been trying to pair up with the military police guarding the Weyr. And eventually the MPs will go away, replaced by a civilian firm.

- Short notes and disclaimer this time. We've under a snow advisory here and it's wreaking havoc with our net connection. There's so much snow falling at times that our microwave connection drops completely. We wanted to get this out while the connection was still up.

And for this chapter's recommendation.

**The Last Potter in England** by **AlaskanKing**  
StoryID: **6028270**

Yes I know this story is not marked complete, but it's done. Sometimes you want a light hearted tale that just leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling. This one does that nicely enough. 8K words in four chapters, it's a little gem that deserves to be seen by more people. Check it out and if you liked it, drop a review saying so. Definitely Harry/Hermione.


	15. Chapter 15

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob watched Alyx in confusion, she was hunched over her desk, busily writing something down.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Alyx screeched in surprise and bolted from her chair. In the process she stepped on the cat's tail causing Pagan to run headfirst in Alyx's pet llama, which bolted into the Christmas tree. The tree toppled over and the heavy llama thrashed about, destroying most of the ornaments.

"So much for Christmas this year," Bob murmured, then he turned back to Alyx. "I'll ask again, what are you doing?"

"You know about 2021 right? The end of the world?" Alyx asked after catching her breath.

Bob blinked. _2021?_ he thought, _someone has mixed up their digits._

"No, do tell," he offered.

"Well it all goes back to ancient South America, or maybe ancient Canadians. Anyway these really old primitive people had a colander that ended in 2021."

"A colander is something that strains pasta and salads," Bob replied. "Perhaps you meant Calendar?"

"Am I telling this story or are you?" Alyx said with a growl.

Bob, spotting the loaded shotgun she held, and strangely enough, a dripping colander in her other hand, wisely chose to discover what's behind door number one. "It's your story oh' mighty one."

"Thank you. Anyway the ancient old primitive Canadians predicted the end of the world in 2021. So I'm including it in my Who Who epic. I'm trying to think of ways to end the world like Invasions of Who Whos from Outer Space, A Who Who Epidemic resulting in Zombie Who Whos, maybe a massive Who who colliding with the earth, knocking us out of orbit," Alyx said excitedly.

Bob rubbed at his temples. "Why can't you just tell the people that we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern?"

"Oh boring! Not going to happen, I have to plan the end of the world and still somehow save Draco and Snape!" Alyx shouted.

"You can't."

Alyx stopped and slowly turned to him, the muzzle of the shotgun rising up to crotch level. "What?" she hissed.

Bob shuddered and soldiered on. "First off, it's not 2021, it's 2012 and it's already past the due date for the end of the world."

Alyx blinked and looked at Bob. "Past?"

"Yep," Bob replied smugly.

Alyx screeched and pushed past him. "Do you know what this means? Shopping! Ebay here I come, it's time to buy up all the toilet paper and cans of beans from the survivalists that are now realizing they are broke!"

Bob sighed and turned to the audience. "While Alyx makes breaks our bank, why don't you enjoy the chapter?"

He looked at Alyx and sighed. "The last time she shopped ebay we ended up with 1500 plastic pink flamingos for the yard," he muttered.

* * *

**A good plan, violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.  
- General George S. Patton.**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, May 20th...**

"Headmistress, a flight of dragons have just landed in our front court," Clarence, the sorting hat, suddenly announced.

Minerva looked up in surprise then she hurriedly left her office, wondering why dragons were here. It was bad enough that Albus Dumbledore had arrived two hours ago in the hospital, and now this? She already had a squad of aurors due to arrive any minute.

She arrived in the front court just in time to see two wings of dragons, forty in all, lift off and find places around the castle to settle down.

"Mr. Potter?" she called.

Harry held up a hand to Hermione, who had been speaking intently to him. When she stopped and stepped back one step, he smiled at Minerva. "I apologize, Headmistress, for our unexpected arrival. But when word came that Albus had been badly injured, I... that is, we wanted to be close by. I have asked that two additional wings of dragons protect the castle. I was told he was attacked, but not why, and until I know he's no longer in danger, we will protect our friend."

Minerva looked at him in surprise. She clearly heard the sound of the dragons in the background and she knew they were unhappy. Albus had been a friend to the Weyr and dragons since Harry's impression and it bothered them to know that someone had tried to hurt him.

She nodded and moved closer to him.

Harry motioned for Hermione to join them.

A quick look around by Minerva showed her that most of the riders present were magical, many of them former students of Albus' and hers. "I admit that I'm surprised to see you, but you're welcome of course. Albus will be very pleased to know you are here," Minerva said with a catch in her throat.

"_We would do the same for you, Harper,"_ Chekiath said. _"You are not part of the Weyr, but Harry __considers you family. You are as important as White Beard."_

Minerva flushed and Sirius opened his mouth, then suddenly shut it when Remus elbowed him in the side. "Not now, Siri," he said, sotto voce.

"What can you tell us, Professor?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"Not much, I fear. Albus arrived here with Fawkes a few hours ago. He was unconscious and cut up, with a badly broken hip. At his age, such an injury is dangerous, but Madam Pomfrey is working on him. His injuries are bad, but not life threatening, according to Poppy. I can only assume that Fawkes brought him here out of habit. Albus preferred Poppy as his personal healer. Fawkes could have easily taken him to St. Mungo's."

Harry nodded, then he noticed a large group of men approaching. Several dragons started to step forward, but Harry held up a hand when he recognized them. "Relax. They're aurors, probably here for the same reason as we are, to find out what happened and to protect our friend."

Chekiath trumpeted loudly and the dragons pulled back, watching the approaching group carefully.

Harry followed Minerva as she strode forward to meet Alejandro Croaker, who was leading Kingsley Shacklebolt and ten of his uniformed aurors.

"Alejandro," Minerva said curtly. Harry looked at her in surprise, as her tone suggested some sort of prior relationship that he was unaware of.

"Minerva, I'm sorry to intrude. I know how hectic these last days before the end of term are. Kingsley and I thought it would be best if we supplied some security for Albus while he recovers," Alejandro replied, then he glanced to Harry and nodded in greeting. "I take it the Weyr is also providing a watch as well?"

"Albus is our friend, and a mentor to many of my riders, including myself. We heard he had been injured in an attack and thought it was a good idea to bring some dragons to help protect him. Albus Dumbledore is loved and respected by the dragons and the riders," Harry said loudly. The dragons thrummed with approval and Alejandro glanced around, noting all of the riders were wizards, and they were all armed with their wands and crossbows.

Croaker nodded slowly, surprised at the fervor in Harry's explanation. "Very well. I'm sure Director Shacklebolt will feel easier knowing that his people aren't alone in safeguarding Albus."

Kingsley nodded and Harry stepped forward.

"It's good to see you again, Director," Harry said, offering his hand. He'd met briefly with Kingsley following the attack on the Hogsmeade school back in February.

Kingsley flashed a brilliant smile and gripped Harry's hand. He was surprised by the firmness of the grip. Harry turned slightly and gestured towards the castle. Forty dragons shimmered into view to Kingsley's surprise.

"The dragons can sense someone who intends to cause harm if they approach the castle along the road or try sneaking up from the sides, Director, but I fear we'll have to leave the defense of the interior in your capable hands. The corridors are far too small to allow a dragon passage," Harry said.

Kingsley eyed the dragons for a moment. He knew of their reputation, but he had never seen them in action. "It's a good idea, Weyrleader. Is there one dragon in charge here?"

Harry nodded and silently called Timath down from his perch. He was an older Horntail and heavily scarred from his time in the reserve.

Timath calmly slipped from his perch atop the Astronomy tower and snapped his wings open. The dragon was large, nearly fifty five feet long, just a few feet short of the 'Imperial' class of Horntails.

The dragon landed lightly in front of Harry, who watched him impassively. He was a large dragon for a non-bonded Horntail, but many of the bonded Horntails and Ironbellies were larger still. Harry also knew that Timath was one of the less talkative dragons. Each Weyr had a small number of dragons, usually older ones, who spoke only when spoken too. Remus thought that because they had come into their intelligence so late in their lives that they would never be fully comfortable with it.

"Timath, let me introduce you to Director Kingsley Shacklebolt. He is in charge of all of the aurors. He will introduce you to the auror who will be protecting White Beard. While they're here, the aurors are in charge of protecting the castle. If any problems crop up you are to inform the aurors immediately. If that doesn't work, bespeak to Chekiath and we'll come help."

Timath turned his large head and eyed Kingsley for a moment then turned back to Harry. _"Yes, Weyrleader, we will do what Metal Ear says."_

The dragon had noted Kingsley's large earring and used it as a foundation for his dragon name.

Timath turned back to Kingsley._ "Greetings, Metal Ear. May you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

Harry smiled broadly at Kingsley, who was looking a bit shocked. "Don't be offended, Director. The dragons never use a person's name. The only exceptions to that rule are riders. A dragon will use the name of their rider and other riders. They mean no insult, it's just the way they are. Many of the dragons personally know Albus and have spent many hours talking to him, but they still call him White Beard. Your name stems from your earring."

"I will leave you two to coordinate things then," Harry said with a slight bow.

Kingsley watched him walk over to Alejandro, then he remembered the large dragon standing off to one side. He turned to Timath and looked up at the dragon. "Well then, why don't I summon the senior auror in charge of the detail and we can talk about how we'll handle things."

"_Of course,"_ replied Timath.

Harry walked over to where Croaker and Minerva were talking. He stayed off to one side until they noticed them.

"Mr. Croaker, do you know what happened to Albus?" he asked.

Croaker sighed. "Word coming from ICW Headquarters is that the security forces managed to capture one of the attackers alive. From what I've heard, it's a mixed bag of nationalities, but they supposedly attacked Albus in the hopes of finding the exact location of the Weyr. You know the Weyr is hidden behind wards and unplottable. Its location is not exactly known and these people seemed to think that Albus could provide that information."

Harry frowned. "Well, they were right about that. Danakov?"

Croaker nodded grimly. "Probably," he said darkly.

Harry's expression hardened and he leaned a little closer to Croaker. "Would it be safe to say that somewhere in the Ministry there exists a file on the man? One that lists things of a personal nature? Like where he lives?"

Croaker's eyes widened slightly. "Why would you..."

"Let's just say the Weyr is not going to sit idly by and let our friends be attacked by cowards who resort to hiring people to do their dirty work," Harry said fiercely.

Croaker hid a smile. Getting a copy of the file to Potter would be easy, but he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. He knew Sir William would not approve, but sometimes the best option wasn't necessarily a legal one. The Weyrleader was suggesting that the Weyr could do something about Danakov if they had the right information.

"I'll get you a copy of it," Croaker said finally. "But officially, you didn't get it from me."

"Thank you. It's time for us to take a stand," Harry replied, then he spun on his heel and walked away, heading for the entrance of the castle. A quick silent command had his riders filing in behind him. Most of them knew they wouldn't get to see Albus, but they all wanted him to know they were there for him.

Harry met up with Hermione again just outside the school infirmary. She'd been waiting for him.

"Madam Pomfrey will only allow Professor Dumbledore three visitors at a time for a short time. I'm going to conjure a large card for everyone to sign, then we can let people in for a short visit. Madam Pomfrey says he'll be better in a few days, but right now he's in a fair amount of pain. She also asks that no one speak to him about the attack. She doesn't want him getting upset," Hermione said.

Dumbledore's advanced age made this a dangerous injury. Potions could be used to help him, but they were not as effective as they were with a younger patient. Madam Pomfrey was allowing the visits because it would boost his spirits. A good, positive attitude was important to help speed the healing process. It was that fact that saw Madam Pomfrey allowing the riders to visit with the old man at all.

Harry nodded and the riders clustered around Hermione, signing the card. Lee suggested they wait in a nearby classroom for their chance to visit with Albus. Harry sent Hermione in first with Susan Bones and Millicent Bulstrode. When Hermione tried to protest, Harry pulled her into an embrace and told her he would go in with the last group. There were nearly magical thirty riders with them, so they would have quite a wait, even with Madam Pomfrey's imposed time limit.

He watched the three girls enter the infirmary then he started to turn back towards the classroom. He stopped when he saw Ron standing about twenty feet up the corridor. Not far behind him stood Ginny. Both were looking at him expectantly.

Harry sighed. He had managed to avoid a confrontation when he visited last back in September, but now it looked like there was no avoiding it.

He walked down the corridor towards Ron, who eyed him with surprise.

This was not the same skinny Harry he remembered. More than a year and a half of exercise and climbing up and down his dragon had resulted in Harry building considerable upper body mass. And this Harry didn't walk, he strode with an air of confidence that was daunting. Harry would never be considered tall by any means, but he walked with a confidence that made it seem like he would tower over Hagrid.

"Harry," Ron said curtly.

Harry smiled sadly. "Hello, Ron. I'm sorry we didn't meet up the last time the Weyr was here."

Ron looked down and scuffed his foot against the stone. "Yeah, well, that wasn't one of my better moments. The first thing I did was complain to Hermione about how I had no one to help with my homework. Flitwick overheard that and tore into me the next day," he replied, then he smiled slightly. "After that I started studying. I'm no Hermione, but I'm not failing anymore either."

Harry was surprised by that fact, but he didn't want to embarrass Ron. "I'm glad to hear that. I always knew you could do it."

Ron looked at Harry intently, then gave him a weak smile. He was surprised and gratified to discover that Harry did think he was capable.

"We heard about Percy. We were surprised to find out he was working for the DMLE, but I reckon he was a true Weasley, after all," Harry offered. "What he did was incredibly brave."

Ron nodded in agreement. He'd been astonished when he'd learned his brother had nearly been killed working undercover for the DMLE.

"He's better, well, awake anyway, which is an improvement. He still needs healers but he's much improved. The healers say that he recovered from the potioning. Now they're working on healing the torture he endured before they buried him," Ron replied.

Harry shook his head grimly. "He is a Weasley. He'll come out of this stronger than ever. If he's like his brothers, he's a lot stronger than anyone suspected."

Ron smiled at the compliment, then he noted Hermione approaching from the Infirmary.

Hermione stepped up to the pair and stood next to Harry. She was glad to be able to visit Albus, but thought she'd go in when Harry did. When she exited the infirmary she saw Harry talking to Ron and Ginny and decided to join them. Harry took her hand in his own without considering it, it was a habit that he was forming that both girls appreciated. It wasn't uncommon for Harry to be seen sandwiched between May and Hermione and holding both their hands as they walked around the Weyr.

"Hello, Ron," Hermione said warily.

Ron couldn't believe the changes in her. While Harry's were immediately obvious, Hermione's changes were more subtle. The past year had seen the taming of her hair and the development of a curvier figure.

He blushed slightly. "Hello, Hermione," he said, then his blush deepened. "The last time you were here, I was rude to you. I'm sorry about that. I've treated you badly in the past and I was wrong about that."

Hermione smiled, feeling vindicated and just a bit smug. "Thank you, Ron," she replied. She was impressed that he had grown up enough to admit that.

"So, you're together now?" asked Ginny, stepping up to the three of them. It was impossible to miss the fury in her bearing.

Harry frowned and turned to her. "I don't understand your anger. We've tried to be your friend and as such you should be happy for us, not angry. As to Hermione and I being together, yes we are very much so."

Hermione squeezed his hand in support. Harry's comments were truthful without mentioning May. She knew he wasn't doing it to hurt May or exclude her, he was just following his own decision, when he was with her, he was totally with her.

"We're not looking to fight with you, Ginny," Hermione added softly. "Harry risked his life for you in second year because you were his friend and he didn't want you getting hurt. Being angry at us only hurts yourself, since we're not here for you to take your anger out on."

Ginny blanched and took a step back like she had been struck.

Harry stepped forward and placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "I'm not trying to hurt you, but you need to understand that the boy you grew up hearing about doesn't exist. He never did. I never tamed a dragon at age five, nor did I organize the first all troll quidditch team when I was eight. I never walked on the moon or helped rescue unicorns from the Atlantis zoo. I never did any of those things the books claimed I did."

Ginny sniffled a little and cast her gaze downwards.

"Harry and I are in a relationship the likes of which you never dreamed of Ginny," Hermione added. "Your mum would never approve and would do everything to keep you away from us if she knew about it."

Ginny looked up, her eyes widening, while Ron stared at them blankly, totally lost by the conversation.

"Charlie said that sometimes dragons have more than one mate," she said shrewdly. She watched their reactions, but neither of them gave anything away.

"Our relationship has nothing to do with this, Ginny," Harry replied firmly, glancing meaningfully at Hermione. He wasn't about to admit that, especially when it seems they were getting through to both red heads. "All we want is for you to accept our friendship and understand that there will never be more. You're a very beautiful girl and I'm sure there are any number of boys who are interested in you. Both Hermione and I would be happy for you if you were in a similar situation."

"There better not be," Ron growled.

Ginny frowned and shot him a look that had him cringing back.

"We won't be returning to Hogwarts as students, Ginny," Hermione said, driving the point home and distracting the two siblings. "We do learn some magic, but we're also taking normal classes like you are. And on top of that, we're trying to make the world safe for our dragon friends."

"They have us learning muggle things also. Dad's over the moon about it and constantly asking to look at our books," Ron admitted.

A pop signaled the arrival of an elf, who handed Harry a sealed folder. "Dis iz for you, Harry Potter sir," said the elf, then he popped away again.

Harry glanced down at the folder and noted the Ministry labeling describing the contents. "Excuse me, but we have some Weyr business to attend to. Ginny, think about what we've said. We are your friends and hope you'll be happy for us. If you want to continue being angry, the only one hurt by it is you."

Harry turned and tugged on Hermione's hand, letting her know he needed her to follow. She smiled at the astonished pair of red heads and said a quick farewell before following Harry up the corridor and into the room where the other riders were still waiting.

"What was all that about?" she exclaimed to Harry.

"Hermione, we need to focus here. Albus was injured because of that Russian idiot who wants to kill me. I think it's time the Weyr sends him a powerful message to back off once and for all," he said, then he handed her the file.

She bit her lip and looked down at the file. She quickly read through the information and saw that it contained some very personal details about Danakov, senior undersecretary of the Russian Ministry for Magic and a first cousin to the Russian Minister of Magic.

"What are you planning to do?" she asked, looking up from the file.

Harry pulled the file gently from her hands and flipped through it a few times, looking for something. "We're going to send a message to Danakov and everyone," he muttered, then he smiled and pulled out the sheet of paper with what he wanted. "Don't worry, no one is going to get hurt. First, we need to find some spells."

Harry turned to Draco, who had been sitting in a corner talking to Millicent. "Draco, you wouldn't happen to have your camera on you, would you?"

Draco reached for the little pouch at his belt and nodded. Harry grinned broadly. "Gather around, then. Here's what we're going to do."

The riders clustered closer to Harry and after a few tense minutes of explanations, they were all wearing a wicked grin that matched his own. The plan expanded and changed and eventually they realized they needed some help from people back in the Weyr. Harry's idea was sound, but it needed some refinement and Harry just happened to know two Marauders who could provide just that.

**ICW Headquarters, Paris, France, May 25th...**

It had taken several days, but Harry was now ready. He had enlisted the aid of the Irtysh River Weyr in finding the locations, and a solid day of explaining his intention to a pair of skeptical marauders before they decided to help. Harry needed Remus' help greatly. The man's expertise in charms was crucial to his plans.

Croaker led Harry down to the British booth in the chamber of deliberation and opened the half door. He and Harry slipped into the box and Harry walked over to the small table and placed his briefcase on it. He opened his briefcase and removed several rolled up posters.

Croaker was uncomfortable in the role as ICW representative. His old job allowed him to maintain a low profile. Stepping into Albus' shoes, even if temporarily, was not something he wanted to do.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Croaker nervously. He had never represented the government before and as a senior member of the Ministry had been tapped to take Albus' place while he recovers from his injuries.

Harry met Croaker's gaze. "It has to be done. The issue is will you help or hinder?"

Croaker muttered and looked away. "I'll help, just don't get us involved in any wars," he replied uneasily. He didn't know what Potter had in mind, but he was here in that blasted uniform of his, which meant he was here to make a statement as Weyrleader of all the dragons and that made Croaker distinctly nervous. The dragons were a wild card in Croaker's world view and he didn't like wild cards.

The green gem started blinking on the panel in front of the box and Harry reached out to touch it. "Senor Weyrleader?"

Harry smiled slightly. "Delegate Delgado? How are you, sir?"

"I am very busy but I hope your offer to visit still stands? My Minister has spoken to the Presidente and they are interested in learning more," replied the voice.

Harry glanced over towards the Peruvian box and it's delegation and smiled broadly. "The Weyr is always eager to make new friends, sir. Might I suggest you make arrangements for your visit through the office of the Deputy Minister for Magic? They can help with the necessary arrangements."

"I will do so, Weyrleader. Thank you again for your offer," replied Delgado, then the gem darkened, indicating the connection was cut.

"What was that about?" asked Croaker.

"The last time I was here, Delegate Delgado and I exchanged some heated words. I apologized after the meeting and offered to personally show him around the Weyr. People need to see dragons as more than just a source of products. The Mugwump asked Delgado to chair a committee to oversee the efforts to find replacements for dragon potion ingredients."

Croaker looked thoughtful. "So that explains his contacting us about finding out what replacements we had come up with."

"Yes, he's trying to coordinate everyone so that replacements can be found easier and quicker. That will happen if there's a way of sharing information. That's what he's trying to do," Harry replied.

A side door opened and Mugwump Stebbins entered the room. Harry gestured towards the main Mugwump's box and took his seat behind Croaker's.

Croaker followed his gesture and took the seat normally occupied by Albus when he spotted the Mugwump taking his seat.

Slowly the hall settled in. A moment later, the British box door opened to admit Kingsley Shacklebolt, who Croaker had originally asked to attend this special session of the ICW. Kingsley arched an eyebrow at Harry's presence, not having known the Weyrleader would be attending, then nodded in greeting.

Stebbins pounded his heavy rock on his table and silence fell in the chamber. The doors closed and there was a squishing sound as they sealed in place.

Harry nodded to Kingsley

"Delegates," Stebbins said solemnly, "this special session has been called on behalf of the British delegation, who want to know what we have learned from the wizards captured when Delegate Dumbledore was injured in this very building just five days ago. It is fortunate that we were already in session when the attack happened, otherwise it might have taken weeks to gather all of the delegates.

"I have been told that Delegate Dumbledore will recover from the attack, but his recovery will be long and protracted. It will be quite some time before he once again walks these halls. He will be sorely missed."

A soft murmur of agreement echoed through the chamber. Harry glanced at the Russian box and noted Danakov looking decidedly uncomfortable at Stebbin's words.

"I have asked the head of our internal security force to speak and to answer what questions might arise. Send for Serge Flishman!"

A side door opened and a short, ugly man walked in. Harry was astounded. If Mad Eye Moody was beaten up, this man had been chewed up and spat back out. Had he been a muggle, Harry was certain he would have been consigned to a facility for the severely handicapped. Like Mad Eye, he was missing an eye and the replacement was the same, disturbing neon blue. One arm was missing entirely, as was an ear. Somewhere during his career, his lower jaw had been replaced with one that seemed to be silver. It was a truly disturbing image.

The man stumped down to the central court and placed his wand on a table as was customary for all people giving testimony before the ICW, then he sat and nodded to Stebbins.

"For the record, state your name, country and current occupation," Stebbins said.

"I am Serge Octavius Flishman. I am a German citizen and I am head of security for the ICW headquarters building here in Paris," Flishman stated in a rough voice that had been turned gravelly due to years of yelling.

"Tell us what your investigations have revealed so far," Stebbins commanded.

"Five days ago, six men stormed the main entrance of the building. Three of them stayed in the lobby, attacking everyone in sight, while three others were hidden under invisibility cloaks. Those three men made their way to the office of the British Delegate, Albus Dumbledore, and they attacked him. Delegate Dumbledore's prowess in magical combat is well known. Despite being badly injured, he managed to buy himself enough time to escape from the building.

"Fourteen people were injured in the attack and five, not including the attackers themselves, were killed. Of the six attackers, three were killed, two escaped and one was captured alive. We questioned him extensively under veritaserum. He was merely a hired wand, but he had been briefed on their purpose, even if he didn't know exactly who was behind the attack."

Stebbins leaned forward in his eye. "And the purpose of the attack on Delegate Dumbledore?" he pressed.

Flishman straightened. "He said they wanted the location of the British Weyr, which is known to exist somewhere along the Scottish coast. I know of no particular motive to use such force to find the Weyr, except that the black market for dragon products is getting desperate. I suspect that the man might have been hired by one of the black market privateer groups. I know that they have tried on numerous occasions to breach the old reserves and have been routed every time. Perhaps they felt that they might have more luck attacking that location."

Harry sat stoically, his gaze firmly fixed on the Russian booth.

Stebbins leaned back and considered what to do. He shot a look towards the British box and noted the presence of Croaker and the Weyrleader.

"I note that the Weyrleader has joined us today. Welcome to our chambers, sir. Was there a specific reason for your presence today?" Stebbins asked.

Harry stood and nodded. He was angry and it showed in the air roiling around him.

"Settle down, Potter. Say what you have to say, and don't blow up the building," Croaker hissed in a whisper.

Harry nodded and tried to push his anger aside. Later, he would vent his anger, but now he needed to be calm and collected. Suddenly he felt Chekiath across the bond. His dragon was very close, perhaps even sitting on top of the ICW building. _"I believe in you, Harry. We all do. Go calmly,"_ Chekiath said. He could also hear the murmurs of hundreds of dragons echoing his dragon's feelings. Bolstered by the feelings from his dragons, he pushed down his anger and looked around the chamber for a moment longer.

"Mugwump Stebbins, honored delegates, the Weyr is grateful for this opportunity to clarify a few points before this august body. Albus Dumbledore is more than a friend to the Weyr. We consider him family and an honorary member of our group. To know he was attacked so callously because of our relationship angers the dragons and the riders. Make no mistake, we will protect ourselves and we will protect our friends as if they were part of our family.

"An attack on my Weyr, or on any of the former reserves, is not only going to fail, it will end in the death of the attackers. No dragon will kill for the sake of killing, but we will kill to defend ourselves. Someone foolish enough to attack Campbeltown will discover that it is protected by dragons, wizards and muggles. If they want to throw their lives away, then so be it."

Harry paused and took a deep breath, then he turned a hard glare in the direction of the Russian box. Danakov suddenly paled and swallowed nervously.

"I fear Mr. Flishman lacks some key information. I will not name names here, but I will simply make a point that will reach the individual we believe to be behind the attack on Albus Dumbledore," Harry said in a hard tone, then he raised his wand and the two large posters flew from the table down to the area directly in front of Stebbin's desk. The posters unrolled and expanded until they were large enough for all to see. In one image, there was a huge palatial mansion and it was literally covered in dragons. The second poster showed a small girl happily playing in a sandbox. In the background of the image, and only a few yards away, Chekiath posed, his rows of needle point teeth clearly visible. It was obvious that the child had no idea the dragon was there, just as it was obvious that the dragon, who stood mere steps away, could swallow her whole, if he so wished.

Harry looked directly at Danakov, who sat perspiring heavily and trembling in terror at the image of his cherished granddaughter only inches from death. The man may be a criminal and a corrupt politician, but he was also a doting grandparent. The Weyrleader was showing him personally that he could be as ruthless as he was, and the Weyr wasn't limited in his choice of targets.

"The Weyr will not sit idly by and allow ourselves or our friends to be attacked. For most of you, these images mean little, but I have no doubt that they convey our message and our warning to the appropriate party involved. It's really very simple. Leave us and our friends alone and we will leave you alone," Harry said.

He was glaring at Danakov and a number of delegates had followed his gaze. Danakov was nodding vigorously. His granddaughter was one of the great joys of his life and the Weyrleader had just proven that he could reach past his guards and her parents with impunity.

Stebbins climbed down from his elevated box and examined the photos, then he glanced up at Danakov with narrowed eyes. It didn't require much to see that the Weyrleader was sending a pointed message. He had once visited Danakov in his summer mansion and he recognized the building in the photograph. He climbed back into his box and banged his large rock against the desk.

The room slowly settled into an uneasy silence. "Weyrleader, if you have information about the cause of this attack, then you must hand it over to our security..."

Stebbins trailed off into silence when Harry shook his head. "Mugwump, I mean no disrespect, but the Weyr is not obligated to share any information. We are not a part of this body; we have no treaty with it and while I do hold a great many people here in the highest regard, an equal number of you represent Ministries that would eagerly rush to kill my people for the ingredients they can provide.

"The Weyr came here today to let the world know two things. Albus Dumbledore may be a wizard and a delegate member of this body, but he is also a friend to the Weyr and considered one of ours, as well. The Weyr will never initiate an attack on anyone, but we will defend ourselves and our friends. My second purpose was to prevent any further harm coming to anyone. Understand that dragons want to be friends with everyone but we are not without power of our own, nor are we afraid to use it.

"I believe I have managed to convey our messages sufficiently. Director Shacklebolt of the British Magical Law Enforcement is here to share what information he has and to learn what he can. I will leave the matters of law enforcement in the hands of the professionals," Harry replied, then he sat down.

"Treaty? With you? Unthinkable! You're not a country!" shouted a delegate.

Harry turned towards the man who stood angrily glaring at him. He noted absently the man was the representative from Saudi Arabia.

The man glowered then turned to Stebbins. "Point of order, Mugwump, but isn't this Weyr on British soil and therefore bound to Britain and her government?"

Stebbins blinked in surprise. "Actually, I am uncertain. Mr. Croaker, you stand in for your colleague. Will you clarify the Weyr's position within your government?"

Croaker stood and glanced sourly at Harry, who smiled tightly. "Mugwump, the Weyr is considered to be a first nation people. They are only bound by British law when on British soil, but the Weyr proper is not considered to be British soil. I know for a fact that the Weyr has negotiated independent treaties with the Americans, the Dutch, and are currently in negotiation with Japan and China. The Weyrleader was right when he said he was under no obligation to share information, nor can we compel him to do so.

"Finally, I will add that he is acting on secret intelligence generated by the British secret service that was shared with the Weyr. Her Majesty's government shared that information because it was felt that the Weyr could find a solution which would resolve the problem with a minimum of fuss."

Harry nodded from his seat behind Croaker and Stebbins sighed. He liked Dumbledore and hoped the Weyrleader would show the information that led him to all but accuse Danakov of conspiracy. _Danakov is nasty business,_ Stebbins thought, _but it's clear that Potter's message has him seriously scared. I wonder who the child is?_

"Very well. Director Shacklebolt, is the British DMLE willing to consult with our security services?" asked Stebbins.

At Croaker's prodding Kingsley stood. "We are, sir," he said nervously.

"Mr. Flishman, would you meet with Director Shacklebolt as soon as the meeting ends please? I would like very much to put this unpleasant episode behind us."

Flishman bowed stiffly in Stebbin's direction, then he limped over to a spot reserved for officers of the ICW and took a seat.

"Considering this is as far as we can go at the moment, let us next turn our attention to the issue of the security zone separating Italy and Greece. Our Swedish delegate has a report..."

Croaker leaned forward and activated one of the stones on the panel, activating a privacy ward and silencing the Mugwump. He turned in his chair and cracked a huge smile. "I thought Danakov was going to shit his pants with that second photo!"

"As long as he takes the warning to heart, I'll be happy. I don't want to hurt anyone, especially not his granddaughter, even if her grandfather is a criminal," Harry said tensely.

"Oh, he got the message all right. I doubt he'll be a bother to you anymore," Croaker said. "I wish we could do more. Albus could have been killed in that attack, but the man holds diplomatic immunity."

Harry nodded unhappily. He, too, would have liked to see the man arrested, but he was untouchable.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, May 26th...**

Harry felt someone shaking him and he jerked awake and covered his head with his arms. His sudden movement caused Hermione to step back in shock. "Harry?" she said softly. She glanced over at May, who was watching the scene intently.

He lowered his arms and blinked a few times. Then he spotted Hermione nearby and relaxed. "I'm sorry, did you need something?"

"What time did you get home last night?" she asked.

He scratched at the back of his neck. "Close to four, I think."

"And why are you sleeping on the couch?" asked May.

He shrugged. "It was late and both of you were asleep. I knew my coming to bed would disturb you, so I laid down on the couch," he replied, then he stretched and winced. His back made several painful popping sounds. "Sleeping on the couch wasn't such a good idea. It's not very comfortable."

"_I told you to curl up with me,"_ Chekiath said.

Harry smiled. "I should have," he admitted ruefully, then he looked at the two girls, who were staring at him. "What? Don't tell me you've never slept with your dragon? They can curl their front paws together to make a very comfortable bed. But don't forget to wrap a sheet around yourself or you'll end up with sand in places you never imagined it could go."

Both girls exchanged shocked looks. They had slept with their dragons, in fact all of the riders had, but Harry was the only person they knew to admit to it. Everyone else seemed to think it was too weird to admit to. And both girls wondered why they hadn't thought of the sheet idea.

May shook from the shock first. "Why did you come home so late?"

"The ICW delegates are not allowed to leave the chamber while the body is in session. And the session lasted until nearly eight in the evening, then a number of delegates wanted to talk to me about Albus. I also received a hand written message from our Russian friend saying he was sorry that Albus got hurt and he'd personally punish anyone he knew of that was involved. Croaker thinks Danakov will probably kill whomever he hired and back off. He also reminded me that I can firmly count Russia and Danakov as enemies at this point."

"So, it was all for nothing?" asked Hermione in dismay.

Harry shook his head. "No, Danakov realizes that he stands to lose big time and has backed off. But he is influential in his country and Russia will undoubtedly be unfriendly to dragons and the Weyr. On the plus side, I may be able to send those DPG guys home soon. I sent off an email to Prime Minister Major letting him know that Danakov has backed off. I hope its good enough to get rid of the bodyguards."

He stretched again and winced.

"Go shower and get dressed," May ordered. "A good breakfast will help wake you, but don't plan on going anywhere today. You're still tired. I don't want you giving jump imagery when you're exhausted."

Harry nodded, knowing she was right. He was tired and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

Twenty minutes later and feeling only a bit more awake, he walked into the Kitchen Hall and up to the front of the room where he waited until people settled down.

"Good morning," he said quietly. "I would like to report that the effort of the past few days to locate Danakov's home and grandchild paid off. The photos were displayed in front of the entire ICW session and our message was understood.

"You all worked hard coordinating with Irtysh River Weyr to locate what we needed, and we learned a few specialized spells that allowed us to take those pictures. I wish I could say that Danakov won't bother us again, but I can't. He represents the power in control of Russia and I think it would be wise if we were wary of any overtures made by Russian representatives for now.

"Finally, Doctor Sheppard informs me that Albus Dumbledore accepted our invitation. He will be coming to the Weyr today, to stay for a week or more. While he gets excellent care at Hogwarts, the infirmary at the school is rarely very quiet. Madam Pomfrey hopes he'll be able to rest here with Doctor Sheppard watching after him. I know many of you would like to spend some time with him, but please, consult with Issac about that. Let him set up a schedule that allows for visitors and for Albus to rest and recover."

Harry smiled and then turned and walked over to the buffet to select his breakfast, then he scanned the room before spotting May and Hermione beckoning him over to their table.

"Are you awake?" asked Hermione when he finally settled at their table.

"No, not really," he admitted. "I feel like I haven't slept enough."

"That's because you haven't," replied May dryly. "In the future, if you come home that late, just wake one of us so you can climb into bed." May paused and looked thoughtful, then she added, "unless you've been drinking, then you can sleep on the couch."

Hermione snickered and Harry looked shocked. "You do know I don't drink, don't you?"

"There's always a first time," May replied. "Remember when Chapman got drunk and threw up all over Cindy Taylor? I thought she was going to have her dragon fry him."

He sighed and shook his head. "May, I'm a mage. I've already had it explained to me from two other mages, as well as Remus and Minerva, that getting drunk is a bad idea for me. Someday I might have a drink or two, but I've been warned against more than that. Dumbledore himself told me he didn't get drunk until he was nearly seventy five years old. Mages will drink, but the loss of control isn't safe us. Losing control of our magic can be dangerous."

May looked surprised and she looked to Hermione, who nodded in confirmation.

"Mages are still people and some drink anyway, but it really isn't a good idea," Hermione said.

Harry leaned a little closer to May. "Your grandfather's problem won't be mine," he said intently.

Hermione looked between the pair with narrowing eyes. No one had told her about May's grandfather.

Harry spotted her look and he shrugged apologetically, "Its not my tale to tell."

Hermione glanced to May, who looked embarrassed.

"My grandda drinks too much. We ignored it because we knew he was dealing with chronic pain, but now that his arthritis is cured, he's still drinking. He doesn't make a pleasant drunk."

Harry nodded in agreement. His one encounter with the man while he was drunk had not been a pleasant experience.

Hermione reached out and gripped May's hand. "I'm sorry," she said.

May shrugged. "It's not your fault. But I don't like people who get drunk. That boy who attacked me... he had been drinking too."

Harry scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders giving her a sideways hug. "I promise, May, it's not going to be a problem for us."

"Of course, it won't," asserted Hermione with a bit of a huff. "Do you honestly think our dragons would allow us to get caught up in that kind of problem?"

May looked at Hermione incredulously and then bit her lip. She could easily envision Trath scolding her if she came home drunk. There was nothing remotely pleasant about that thought.

"Well, we'll just have to find another way to be stupid teens," Hermione said, then she grimaced. In her opinion, her behavior around Christmas time was a perfect example of teen stupidity.

"Hermione," Harry said instantly on the heels of her comment. He knew exactly what she was thinking. After all, he was an expert at blaming himself, so he could see it in others. "That's in the past. Like the dragons say, what matters is what we do from here on. If I can put it behind us, then so can you."

Hermione blushed and nodded. She wasn't sure if this was his dragon's influence or just a case of Harry growing up, but he was becoming very quick to pick up on subtle cues and correctly deduce the reason for them.

"Well, she does have a point," May said with a smile. "If we can't do the typical teenage things, then what can we do? It's not like you can take your date out for a drive and make out in the back seat. Dragon's don't have back seats."

Harry sipped at his tea. "Do we really want to resort to that kind of stupidity? Or do we even need to? Our dragons would probably stop us from doing something really dumb and I like to think that our bonds have matured us enough to avoid the worst parts of being a teen. Besides, bonding with our dragons might have saved us from the usual teen stupidity, but I'm certain it hasn't prevented adult stupidity.

"On the other hand, your typical teen can't decide to take his best girls on a picnic lunch to the Caribbean. Once we go public, we could take the entire Weyr to Brighton beach for a day in the sun. Imagine the stir that would create. Your typical teen can't travel around the world in seconds. I'm not naïve enough to think that we'd can go anywhere and be welcome, but our options will be wide open. I'm sure we'll find plenty of things to do that we'll enjoy and make fools of ourselves while we're at it."

May chuckled and Hermione looked at Harry in astonishment. She had assumed that going public wouldn't really change things, but now she wasn't so sure. Suddenly she had an image of herself visiting her old neighborhood and seeing the girls that used to torment her so. Only this time she would be on the back of her dragon. Hermione looked between the two others then shook her head and sighed. _Harry was right,_ she thought. _As much fun as it is to fantasize about getting revenge on my tormentors, I'm was beyond that now and don't need to do it._

Harry stifled a yawn and both girls exchanged a look.

"Harry," Hermione said softly, "why don't you go back to bed? I'll come get you in two hours. This way you'll be more awake and won't flip your schedule upside down."

He nodded. "Good idea. Right now I'm too tired to get much work done. Tell James and Sirius where I am, will you, love?"

Hermione nodded and both girls watched him leave the room. Once he was gone, May turned to Hermione. "Brighton? I would have thought he would choose a nude beach like Nice?"

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Gordon Chapman would, but not Harry. He likes looking at us when we're topless, but I guess he doesn't want anyone else having a peek. Besides, you know that seeing us both topless nearly causes his head to explode."

"Or something else to explode," May muttered with a dirty little snicker.

Hermione blinked then laughed wickedly.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, May 31st...**

"May I?"

Harry glanced up and smiled at Albus Dumbledore. "Please, Albus," he replied. The old man stood there, a cane in one hand and a cup in the other. His injuries had been healed, but due to his advanced age, he would always deal with lingering pain and need the assistance of a cane for support while walking.

Albus sat down and tried to suppress the sigh of relief, but he couldn't hide how he was feeling from the dragons.

"You might not feel it, but it looks like you're moving better, Albus," Harry said.

The old man smiled. "I am getting there. It aches a bit less each day. Poppy tells me that I might need the cane from now on, however. I fear at my age healing bone injuries is not as easy as it might be for a young buck like yourself."

Harry had heard that same information from Issac along with a warning to not allow Albus to do to much walking. The Weyr was a sprawling settlement and walking was a necessity.

"Harry, Alejandro stopped by this morning and filled me in on the details of your trip to the ICW." Albus said slowly.

Harry winced inwardly, but he held Dumbledore in a steady gaze. "I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I had to make a statement that would convince Danakov that the expense of continuing his plans would cost him dearly."

Albus eyed him for a moment, then he reached across the table and touched Harry's hand. "Do not think I am unhappy with what you did, my boy. While I might have chosen a different approach, you took one that was uniquely suited to the abilities of your riders and your dragons. It was innovative and dramatic in the extreme. And yet no one was harmed.

"Alejandro tells me that you really shook up a number of the delegates who had been hostile to the idea of dragons being as smart as humans. I might have wished that you didn't have to do what you did, but I cannot fault your method. And I am deeply touched by the sentiment behind it. I had not realized that the dragons thought so highly of me."

"_You worry too much about the past, White Beard. I have not known you as long as Harry, but I knew right away that you always meant well,"_ Chekiath announced suddenly. _"Since Harry and I impressed, you have done nothing but try to help us. The magical riders hold you in high regard, but so do the dragons. The Weyr has prospered because of your help."_

"Dear Merlin," exclaimed Albus and Harry grinned at him.

"Our friends and allies are precious to us, Albus. I will admit my first inclination was to find the Russian ministry building and lay waste to it. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I could accomplish the same thing without risking a single dragon, _and_ I could send a clear message. Mess with our friends at your own peril," Harry gestured around him. The room was slowly filling up with riders and off duty security personnel taking their mid-afternoon break.

"Every one of these people has a role to play. Including you, Albus. Your help was invaluable in dealing with the Ministry and the Prime Minister. Since I impressed, you've done nothing but help and we've benefited because of that," Harry said seriously. "Danakov posed a clear and present danger to the Weyr, to you, and what we're trying to do. While I probably would not have ordered any harm to his granddaughter, the threat is valid and I would have no compunction against burning his home to the ground if he harms another person connected to the Weyr."

"And the fact that eliminating the threat meant releasing the Prime Minister's security people you had following you around didn't influence your decision in any way?" asked Albus with a twinkle in his eye.

Harry blushed and looked down for a moment, then he looked up at Albus. "Do you know how hard it is to take your girlfriends on a date when you have three men following you everywhere? The only way we could avoid that was if we went somewhere via dragon and I can't exactly take the girls to the cinema on Chekiath yet."

Albus blinked in surprise. "Well, now that you mention it, I don't know what it's like," he admitted. "But I think I can see what you mean. Sirius has been bragging about you and your girls since I arrived."

Harry shrugged. "Somehow we are making it work. It wasn't easy in the beginning and it still isn't. The dragons want this and we can't help but be influenced by that. On the other hand, the dragons are influenced by our desires as well, so it balances itself out, I suppose."

Harry paused and took a deep breath. "It's a strange feeling," he said softly. "When I impressed Chekiath, I instantly knew I had someone who loved me. Now I have four other people if you count in the dragons. I can feel what the dragons feel, both for me and Chekiath. Some days I'm sure I'll wake up in the cupboard and find this was all a very strange dream."

"_That is not going to happen, Harry,"_ Chekiath said emphatically. _"This is no dream, my consorts are not a dream, nor are your wives."_

Harry smiled and looked towards the roof of the building where his dragon was enjoying an early warm day in the sun. "I know, Cheki," he said. "I know it's no dream and I'm very glad for it."

Harry's smile broadened. He could feel Cheki thrumming contentedly on the roof.

"Harry, Sirius has told me about your particular problem. If you like, I happen to know a druid high priestess that I could bring to the Weyr. But if I do, you'll have to promise me you won't tell Minerva."

Harry looked intrigued. There was a story here that he hadn't heard before. "What does Professor McGonagall have to do with it?"

Albus looked a bit pained. "In my younger days I helped a young witch who was interested in the druid beliefs learn more about the subject. Eddie McGonagall moved to Dublin on the basis of a letter of introduction to the St. Patrick Hospital of Magical Illnesses that I provided her. There she met a rather nice fellow who was also studying to be a healer and who happened to be a practicing druid."

Dumbledore frowned. "I'm afraid Minerva didn't take it very well when her sister converted and ultimately married Seamus Took. Minerva's family has always been rather anti-Irish and to find she was converting on top of that didn't sit well. While Minerva's views aren't as fixed as some of her family, she felt Eddie was throwing away her family in favor of a boy. Eddie is a dear woman with a heart of gold, but like all the McGonagalls she has a fiery temper. Neither sister have spoken to the other in more than thirty years."

Harry leaned back and thought about what Albus was telling him. The dragons were asking questions about religion that neither he, nor the other riders, could answer.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt. We were thinking of looking into the Druids and their handfasting ceremony several years from now, but the dragons are asking questions that are getting very hard to answer," Harry replied.

Dumbledore arched a bushy eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh?"

"They're curious, and faith is something that interests them. I don't have answers for myself, let alone my dragon. I talked about it with May and Hermione and we thought it would be best if we just let the dragons find their own way," Harry said.

"That is probably for the best, Harry. If the dragons want to adopt a human faith, or find their own path, it should be of their choosing. I know from personal experience that one shouldn't be making these kinds of decisions for others," Albus replied a touch ruefully.

Harry smiled weakly at the man. He knew he was referring to his interference in Harry's life, and in the lives of others. He was glad he had stopped trying to interfere. Albus was much more personable these days instead of hiding in his high tower at Hogwarts. Leaving the school had done him a lot of good.

"How long will you stay with us?" Harry asked.

Albus sighed and looked at the cane leaning against the table. "My healers are insisting that I rest for another week. Fortunately, Lord Mills has allowed me the use of his office computer so I can look over some matters at the office and offer some advice. I will use the time to contact my friend Eddie and see if she can visit for a day."

Harry nodded. "Just remember that you're one of us, Albus. You'll always have a place here."

Albus smiled broadly. "Thank you, my boy."

**Dragon Infirmary, Campbeltown Weyr, June 1st...**

May pushed a stray lock of hair away from her face and positioned the light again, then she reached up and carefully trimmed the bulging scale using heavy duty tin snips. By trimming the excess, she was able to get the scale to lay flat against the hide. The soft hide underneath the scale was an angry red and she swore she could feel the heat radiating off it.

Carefully she peeled back the scale and smeared a soothing paste over the infection, which would cool it and help ease the discomfort. Above her, Sarth whuffled and sighed in relief. "I know, Sarth, but now that I'm done with this, I'll be able to give you a potion for the pain and an antibiotic," she said, then she grabbed her lamp and slid out from under the large dragon.

It was something her own father had suggested, this small wheeled rack that she could lay on and scoot along the ground. The Weyr had purchased several from an automotive repair catalog. It made it easier for the healer to reach awkward places on the dragon.

Standing up, she shoved the rack towards one wall where a house elf was waiting to hang it up, then she turned to look at the Hebridean Black. "Go get settled into stall four. I'll be there in a moment. I have to get the potion for your pain and prepare your shot," she ordered.

Sarth bobbed his head and moved to the appointed stall. He spent several minutes settling into place then he turned to look eagerly for May's arrival.

"How are you, Sarth?" asked Harry.

The large dragon turned his head towards Harry, who had just entered the building. _"I'm sorry, Weyrleader, Jerry and I didn't notice the bad scale until it was too late."_

Harry held up a hand, staying the dragon. He glanced over to Jerald Wissman, who stood nearby looking unhappy about his sick dragon. "Neither of you has any reason to apologize," he said quietly. "These things happen. The important thing is to concentrate on getting better and I know Jerry will do everything in his power to help you."

Sarth turned to look at Jerry, who was nodding fervently. Harry scratched the dragon's eye ridges for a moment, then he straightened and turned when May approached pushing a cart.

May gave him a bright smile, then turned to Sarth. "Let's do something about that pain first. Open wide for the potion, then I have some water to rinse the taste away," she said.

Sarth stretched his long neck towards May and she fearlessly stepped up to a mouth that could snap her in two in a single chomp. She lifted a large bucket off the cart and slowly poured the potion in.

"_This is really nasty,"_ complained Sarth.

May stepped back and placed the bucket on the floor, then she lifted another bucket off the cart. "I know, but in a few minutes the pain will be all gone. Now, here's some water to wash it down," May replied soothingly.

The dragon opened his mouth and let her pour the water directly in instead of lapping it up like normal. With both buckets empty and on the floor next to the cart, she turned to the cart again and prepared the largest needle Harry had ever seen.

"Now, one shot of antibiotics to help you fight that infection," she murmured. "We'll be repeating this shot twice a day until you're better."

Harry's eyes grew huge and he turned away. May glanced up and smirked at his back. _He can be such a wimp sometimes,_ she thought. She cleared the syringe of air bubbles and Sarth obediently opened his mouth. "This will feel like a slight pinch, so hold still," she said softly, then she plunged the needle into the gum line between two teeth and pushed hard on the plunger.

Dragon hide was too tough to allow any needle to easily penetrate. Only the gum area in the mouth provided a place where a needle could be used without risking it bending or breaking. It was a fact discovered by Dan Granger when he started working on dragon teeth. Before that point, the anti-biotic drugs were usually mixed in pill form with a meat paste and fed to the dragons. And they hated the meat paste.

A moment later she was putting the needle on the cart. She glanced over to see Harry had turned back around and looking very sheepish. "Oh, don't let it bother you, Harry. My father is terrified of needles too and my grandda is even worse," she said impishly.

She turned to Jerry Wissman, "You'll see to getting him settled in, Jerry?"

"Yes, May, and thank you for your help," replied the worried rider gratefully.

May pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "It's what I'm here for," she replied, then she picked up the buckets and placed them on the cart. She started to push the cart towards her work area when she stopped and looked at Harry. "Did you need to see me about something? I don't see Chekiath about and he didn't look ill this morning."

Harry suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Can we talk in your office?" he asked, sounding a bit nervous.

A cold knot formed in her belly and she was suddenly wondering if he was about to tell her that the relationship just wasn't working out. Numbly she led him into her office and he shut the door behind them. Despite the progress made in their relationship it was still so new and fragile that she was unsure of its stability.

"_You're being silly. That can't happen,"_ Trath chided privately.

Harry said nothing about Trath's comments. He could hear private comments made by the dragons to their riders, but he didn't want any of them to know about it. Private comments were meant to be private and he would respect that. "May, I know the last few months have been difficult on the three of us and I know what today is," he said looking at her. His nervousness seemed to increase.

"And?" she said warily. It was her birthday and they had made plans for later this evening to celebrate with a small dinner and cake at Harry's house. There would be a larger celebration come the weekend when her parents came to stay the weekend at the Weyr.

"I found myself presented with a dilemma. When I learned two weeks ago that your birthday was today I wanted to get you something, but I had also promised myself I would never treat either you or Hermione differently. I wanted to give you something that signified how I felt about you and it was driving me crazy until I came upon this solution," he said. As he spoke he paced her office and she watched him. She had seen him tired, and happy, sometimes down and sometimes elated, but this was a new face she hadn't seen before.

He stopped and faced her. "I have two things for you. I gave one of these to Hermione this morning just after breakfast and I really hope you'll accept this from me?"

He reached into his belt bag and withdrew a small ring box.

May gasped. "Is that?"

He smiled gently. Hermione had made the same initial assumption as well. "No, it's not an engagement ring. According to Remus, my dad gave my mum a promise ring first. I didn't want to use that ring, but I had the goblins make two copies of it. I would really like you to wear it as my promise to you that someday, perhaps before we're twenty, we'll all go find that druid priestess and get married in our own way."

Harry opened the ring box and she gasped. It was a simple platinum band that was topped with two overlapping hearts. The workmanship was exquisite and it took away her breath just looking at it.

"Hermione accepted hers this morning. I explained that I wanted to give you something special for your birthday, but I didn't want her to feel left out."

May looked up from examining the exquisite ring and smirked at him. "So, that's why she dragged you back to our quarters after breakfast?"

Harry blushed, but nodded. May was a bit of a tease and sex was one of those things that she found she could tease the others about. Harry was more susceptible than Hermione, however.

"Harry," she said gently, "Sirius himself called us wives and that's probably the best term for it. I only tease you because both you and Hermione seem to think it's some deep secret. I know you make love to her, just like she knows you make love to me. It's a natural thing and I'm going to continue teasing you two until you get used to it."

She sighed and shook her head. It had taken a discussion with Luna before she realized that while neither Harry or Hermione had grown up in the wizarding world, they were more conservative than May was when it came to discussing sex. It was like they'd accidentally adopted Wizarding society's taboos when it came to sex.

She had taken to teasing them both and had finally hit the point with Hermione where they could share some details like two very close friends. They didn't share everything of course, but she and Hermione had grown closer than she thought was possible.

She removed the ring from the box and deftly slipped it onto her finger, then she stepped closer to Harry and pushed his chin up with a finger. "She had you this morning, but tonight you're mine, Mr. Potter," she said huskily. "I'll wear your ring and when the time is right all three of us will seek out your druid."

Harry smiled at her, looking vastly relieved. He held out a small gift wrapped package and with a whispered word canceled the reducing charm on it. It expanded into another jewel case, although this was obviously not a ring. "Sirius and Remus told me my dad bought my mum a charm bracelet that he intended to use to mark special occasions in her life. Her first two charms were a wand and a small teddy bear. I guess because of her having me and her being a witch. I thought it would be a good idea to do the same," he said, then he handed her the box.

She opened the box to find a elegant but sturdy bracelet with a tiny dragon on it. The workmanship surprised her and she guess it was probably made with magic. She didn't know any other way he could have found such a perfect little dragon. Next to the dragon was another charm, this time a small syringe representing her role as a Weyrhealer.

"The charms and chain are made by goblins," he offered. "They're the very best when you want something made in metal. Other than the chain being enchanted so only you can remove it, there's no other magic in it."

She stared down at the little dragon who seemed to stare up at her in amusement. She noted that the goblins had used emerald chips for the eyes and wondered if Harry had specified that, or if it was mere chance. "It's wonderful," she said. She started to fumble with the tiny clasp and he stopped her. He took the chain in his hand then quickly gave her wrist a quick kiss before putting it on her.

She stepped forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Hermione knows she will get her charm bracelet on her birthday," he whispered. She laughed and pulled him tighter and kissing him fiercely. _Tonight,_ she thought, _definitely tonight. I want him fully recharged, otherwise I'd be pulling his clothes off now._

**Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, June 5th...**

Harry looked at the aerial photo, then he turned to Lobsang. "So, if you alternate the patrols, with one sweeping north by west and a second sweeping in an opposite south by east, they should cross paths over the center of the Weyr. Unless you're careful with your altitudes, you could run into difficulties, but more importantly this pattern means that these approaches are missed by your pattern," Harry explained, while pointing out two particular slopes on the photo.

While Maziang was generally inaccessible, there was a small foot path on one slope and a badly maintained ox cart trail on the other slope. It could be reached easily enough from the air, however.

Lobsang stared at the large photo again. It was a four foot by four foot satellite image of the Maziang plateau. The village was clearly visible, as was the new housing for the riders. Lobsang nodded, then he glanced down at a smaller photo in his lap and used the grease pencil Harry had supplied him to outline a new pattern.

"Instead of an X shaped pattern then, we should have two patrols which should follow the top of the plateau edges like this," he murmured, drawing lines indicating the direction and path of the patrol sweeps. "And... one patrol over the main Weyr and village itself?"

Lobsang looked up at Harry, unsure about the addition of a third patrol group, but Harry nodded.

"Yes, that could work. It would give you a clear view of the approaches to the plateau, as well as coverage over the main Weyr."

Lobsang leaned back in chair and smiled to himself. He had arrived at Campbeltown earlier today to tell Harry in person that they had detected some people testing the edges of the wards. The Shangri La ward masters would not be able to bolster the wards on Maziang for another two weeks.

They didn't know who was sniffing around the wards, but they suspected it might be some of the Chinese wizards. Since the Chinese takeover of Tibet, the Chinese wizards had tried to breach Maziang's wards on several occasions. Usually every couple years someone would make an attempt, as if they were testing to see if the wards were still at full strength.

When Harry heard a description of the problem he called for a Weyrleader meeting. Kat and Skip sat looking over images from Maziang, as well as Condron and Campbeltown, while they discussed what to do.

"Harry," Kat said in that soft voice of hers, "I think I would like to go with one additional idea. You recall my email about the ready wing?"

Harry nodded. Kat had suggested that one wing always be on standby. At Condron they had set up a tent for the riders of the ready wing so that everyone could be alerted at the same time. Campbeltown hadn't gotten around to setting up a tent, but they had worked out a method to alert the ready wing in their homes.

"Yes, I remember it. It's a good idea, we've adopted a similar idea here," Harry replied.

Kat blushed at Harry's praise. "Well, I would like to say that if Lobsang discovers someone attempting to break their wards, Condron's ready wing will be available to respond within three minutes of the alert. The full Weyr can turn out within ten minutes."

Harry glanced over to Ronan, who he had asked to attend the meeting.

"It's a good idea. We can do the same," Ronan said.

"Very well, but I want to be clear about this. The Weyrs can and must support each other. But let's not call out the troops because someone gets lost and stumbles into the wards. Calling for support should be limited to Weyrleaders, or their designated officers, and only for real emergencies." Harry replied. "Lobsang knows that we have spoken with the Chinese, and while they weren't really pleased, the lure of cheap energy is enough to make them cooperative for now."

Harry waited until all the Weyrleaders nodded in agreement.

The door to the office opened and Albus stood in the doorway. Behind him stood a small woman with auburn hair streaked with gray. She was dressed in all white and wore a simple silver circlet around her head. It was obvious that she was the Druid Priestess that Albus spoke of.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I assumed your meeting was over," Albus said. "I'd like you to meet Eddie Took. If you recall, I spoke of her a few days ago?"

"I remember," Harry replied with a smile. "I think we're through here?" He glanced at the other three Weyrleaders and they nodded, then started packing up their things.

The others stood and started to leave. Kat paused in front of Eddie and to Harry's surprise, bowed to the woman.

Eddie smiled gently at the girl and placed her hand on Kat's head. "Goddess' blessing, my dear," she said.

Kat straightened and smiled brightly, then she stepped from the room.

"I wasn't aware that Kat was a druid." Harry commented.

Eddie smiled again. "She may not be one, young man, but she respects the old beliefs or she would have not offered respect like she did. One does not need to be a member of the faithful to seek a blessing."

Eddie turned to Albus. "Who was that young woman?"

"That was Kat Mathews, a young American witch," Albus replied. "I wasn't aware of her beliefs, so I share Harry's surprise."

"Please, come in and sit, especially you, Albus," Harry said firmly, gesturing to some chairs. "You know you should be resting."

Albus' smile slipped a little, but he did as Harry instructed.

"Cheki, would you ask May and Hermione to come to my office, please?" Harry called.

"_Of course, Harry,"_ replied the dragon, who was sitting on the roof sunning himself.

The woman paused and looked perplexed. "That was strange, I could have sworn I heard a voice," she whispered mostly to herself.

"Hasn't Albus told you where you are?" asked Harry in surprise.

Eddie shook her head. "No, he just asked me to come with him today. He said he had some very special people that he'd like me to meet."

Harry chuckled and looked over at the old man, who was smiling and his eyes were twinkling at full blast. He shook his head and turned back to Eddie. "Albus said he knew someone that might be able to help with some unique problems we have here. But before I go into that, allow me to welcome you to Campbeltown Weyr. I'm Harry Potter."

Eddie gasped and looked at him in astonishment. "Then that voice I heard?"

"_Was me!"_ Chekiath said happily. _"I'm on the roof, but I'll be down in a moment."_

"That was Chekiath, Harry's dragon and if I may be so bold, the largest dragon in the world," Albus said, still smiling.

"_Of course I'm the biggest. I have to be. My rider is the best Weyrleader,"_ Chekiath replied.

"Cheki," Harry said with a sigh. "A year ago I was the _only_ Weyrleader."

"_That doesn't matter,"_ Cheki replied. _"A year, or a hundred from now and you'll still be the best Weyrleader."_

Harry glanced sourly at Albus, who was chuckling softly at his discomfort.

Eddie turned to Albus and scowled, "I see you haven't lost your love of surprising people. Really, Albus, how Minnie puts up with you only the Gods know."

The door opened at that moment and May and Hermione entered. Harry stood and walked around his desk, reaching out with a hand for both of them. He turned to Eddie. "To be honest. I don't know what I should call you," he said falteringly.

"Eddie will do just fine for now, Mister Potter," she replied. She watched Harry lovingly wrap an arm around both girls and she raised an eyebrow. Not even the slightest hint of such behavior in the Weyr had made the wizarding papers.

"Eddie, I would like to introduce you to Hermione Granger and May McNulty. They are probably the most important people in the Weyr to me, except for my dragon," he said quietly. "Ladies, this is Eddie Took. She's a druid high priestess. I asked Albus to bring her here because the dragons are asking questions that none of us have any answers to."

Harry ushered the girls around to his side of the desk after they shook Eddie's hand. They took seats that Harry normally kept on that side for them.

Harry smiled and took his own seat, then he heard the grinding noise of the dragon door activating. Eddie gasped when Chekiath walked in and curled up in his spot. Unlike the house, the dragon stall in Harry's office was only big enough for Chekiath.

"Eddie, this is Chekiath, my dragon."

"_Hello. May you find peace and shelter under our wings,"_ Chekiath replied.

"May the Goddess bless you and your kin," Eddie responded automatically, then she blinked in surprise. She looked towards Harry, who was grinning at her.

"I find it helpful if you just think of my friend there as a funny shaped person," he offered.

"_I tried to think of you as a funny shaped dragon once, Harry,"_ Chekiath added. _"But you don't have wings."_

Harry chuckled and shook his head, then he turned back to Eddie. "I asked Albus to invite you here because our dragons are asking questions about religion that I cannot answer. Nor can Hermione or May. The dragons are wondering if God cares for them and, considering their origins, I would say it's a tough question. Someday soon the Weyr will become public knowledge and we'll let the dragons explore the various religions, but as a witch, you already knew about the dragons, so we could bring you here early."

"You make it sound like there is something unusual in their origin?" asked Eddie.

Harry glanced toward Albus and he nodded. "I think you can trust Eddie with this secret, Harry. I have known her for many years now and I found her most trustworthy."

"_I agree with White Beard, Harry,"_ Chekiath offered.

He leaned back in his chair for a moment then he started to speak. "What I am about to tell you is a secret so great that the mug... normals will never know about it, Eddie. Chekiath says you are trustworthy and Albus agrees. It is only because of them that I will share this information with you."

"Like all clergy, we keep the confidence of many who come to us with their dilemmas, Weyrleader," she said with a quiet dignity.

"And yet few will present you with this kind of secret," Hermione countered.

Eddie bowed her head. "I will keep your secret. On my oath as a servant of Ernmass, the Earth mother."

Harry nodded and leaned forward in his chair. "As near as we can determine from the racial memories handed down, dragons came to our world somewhere between thirty thousand and seventy five thousand years ago. We know this because a dragon passes memories to its offspring. Examination of the memories to identify the animals that were seen allowed us to narrow the time frame a little."

Harry smiled slightly, then he continued. "What we also know is that thousands of years in the future, a population of humans will colonize a planet they will call Pern. Wishing for a simpler lifestyle, they rejected much of their advanced technology and brought with them just enough to build an agricultural society.

"Unfortunately for these colonists, they encountered a form of life with a voracious appetite for all organic matter, including people and livestock. The colonists were unprepared for this danger and had not brought any of their advanced weapons or the industry to make such weapons. In an act of desperation, they took a local life form and modified it, creating dragons with intelligence and the need to bond with humans."

"Created? Another planet?" she exclaimed.

Hermione reached out and touched Harry's arm. He glanced at her and understood what she was asking. He nodded his assent.

"Eddie, how much do you know about the muggle world?" asked Hermione.

The older woman frowned a little. "Not as much as I'd like, but as a healer I have tried to keep up with some of the advances in their medicine. I find myself constantly amazed by their drive and ingenuity."

Hermione nodded. "Sometime in the future, man will leave this planet and colonize other worlds. He will master technologies we can only dream about, including the ability to alter existing life forms to create something new. Our dragons were originally created by man and given intelligence, again by man. They designed many intended features into them, and some unintended, such as the ability to travel through time. Our dragons are every bit as intelligent as you or I and they are clearly not human. Some concepts elude them, and others that are so complex we need computers to figure them out, they know intuitively."

"_Humans have God, and they created us. Does that mean that God doesn't love us because he didn't make us? Humans have souls. Do we have souls?"_ asked Chekiath, thrusting to the heart of the issue.

"Oh, sweet Merlin," breathed Eddie, then she turned to face Chekiath. "Chekiath, you ask tough questions, but I will try to answer them. What I want to make clear from the start is that there are beliefs and there are facts. Do you understand the difference?"

Chekiath extended his long neck, bringing his large head fully into the office space. _"A fact is something that is. Harry loves his consorts. That is a fact. He is Weyrleader, that is a fact. I believe that adding more consorts would make Harry unhappy and uncomfortable. I could have more but for him I limit myself. That is a belief, I think."_

"Uncomfortable? More like dead," May muttered.

Hermione shook her head ruefully, but she admitted to herself that she was unwilling to share Harry with any other girl. Both girls glared at Harry who blanched.

"Hey, I'm not even looking!" he protested. "Besides, there's no one in the Weyr that could top either of you."

"_Don't blame the Weyrleader,"_ Trath announced suddenly.

"_Chekiath could have more consorts. We are honored to be his consorts. I don't understand why this is such a problem,"_ commented Comaloth.

Both girls blushed at the comments from their dragons and Harry relaxed a bit. At least for now he was off the hook. He didn't know it but both girls were secretly pleased by his comment that no other girl could top them.

Eddie watched the byplay with amusement, then she turned back to Chekiath. "What I think, Chekiath, is that all life is precious and that if the Gods didn't approve, then dragons would not have been created in the first place. Being human myself, I cannot say for certain if you have a soul or not, but I will tell you that I prefer a belief that the goblins promote. Souls are tied to consciousness. All intelligent life, be it human, goblin or dragon have souls."

"_That is comforting,"_ Chekiath admitted. _"I knew there was an important reason why Harry wouldn't let us eat goblins."_

Eddie blinked and Albus roared with laughter, while Harry tried to explain about dragon humor.

Eventually things settled down and Eddie turned her attention back to Harry. "I think I can see why Albus asked me to visit here today. I can also see that some of my more conservative colleagues from the other faiths might have difficulties with a dragon based congregation. The freedom to decide for themselves by itself would only lead to confusion if you didn't have someone to help guide the dragons. Ideally, you should have someone from each major denomination available to answer questions. I would be happy to help teach anyone about my faith because faith shared is faith strengthened but I would strongly suggest bringing more than just myself."

Harry nodded. "It was our intention, but being a witch you already knew about dragons. Right now no one else knows about them."

"Plus the other thing, Harry," May said suddenly.

Harry looked at her and smiled. "Yes, that other thing." He turned back to Eddie. "The bond between dragon and rider is incredibly strong. I can speak to Cheki with just my mind alone and he can speak to me in the same manner. The bond affects everything we do. So when Chekiath decided that he was willing to limit himself to just two consorts..."

May blushed and Hermione crossed her arms and glared at Harry. "Honestly, you can't leave it hanging there like that!"

Harry looked at her. "Well? How would you say it? It's not like you can run around saying you share a husband with another girl."

Eddie's eyes lit up. "Ah, I see. And this is a result of the dragon bond?"

May nodded. "There are now three known triples in the Weyr, and I'm sure they won't be the last. Some are forming true couples, but we all had to acknowledge that dragons mate for life. The bond between rider and dragon is self reinforcing, so in this case, Harry was attracted to both Hermione and myself. And we were attracted to him. Without the dragons, it's probable that only one of us would have ended up with Harry, but because of the dragons, sharing, within strict rules, is acceptable even if it's not conventional."

Harry reached over and took the hand of both girls. "They wear my promise ring for now. It's too soon, I think, for anything else. But someday, perhaps in a couple of years, we'll want to acknowledge what we have with something more permanent. I'm certain the others in the Weyr that are in similar circumstances will feel the same. I also realize that this does give you a bit of an advantage over any other denomination we bring to the Weyr."

Eddie nodded thoughtfully. "When does the Weyr become public knowledge?"

"Her Majesty thought it would be fitting to announce the Weyr to the world on the same day as Harry's birthday, July 31st," May said, then she smiled seeing Harry frown. Both girls gave his hand a squeeze, trying to convey their support.

"With your permission, I would like to visit sometime after that date. My faith might offer some advantages, but I wouldn't want anyone accusing me of taking advantage of them. In the meantime, Albus can tell you how I can be contacted and I will be available to answer any questions you might have," Eddie said.

"If you like, I can have one of our riders show you around today. As much as you'd probably prefer Albus to do so, he is still recovering from his injury," Harry said.

Eddie turned to Albus and arched an eyebrow.

He looked down and his cheeks colored slightly. "My healer doesn't want me moving around too much," he admitted.

She eyed him for a moment then she turned back to Harry. "Far be it for me to go against another healer's orders. I would appreciate being shown around."

Harry nodded and he looked at Hermione.

"I'll be happy to show her around Harry," she said.

"Good, because I think my next problem has arrived," Harry said, just as the door opened and Sirius and Katherine stood in the doorway.

**North Fambridge, Essex, England, June 5th...**

"So you're saying we can't get to him?" Carlos said with a touch of anger.

Alberto shook his head. "No, senor, I am saying that he is too heavily protected at the Ministry building and at home. If we want to hit him, we must wait until he exposes himself."

"Makes sense," Anna said from her chair. She ignored the glare Carlos sent her way. "Carlos, you know that you don't attack someone where they are the most protected. He's a politician, ultimately he has to come out to be seen by the public."

Anna reached for a piece of parchment and she offered it to Carlos.

"What's this?"

"It's a list of the times and places for the next two weeks where he'll be exposed," she said, shaking the parchment. "Courtesy of the press office at the Ministry. It's amazing what one can get when one pretends to be a member of the press."

Carlos took it from Anna and started to read it. "There are several times when he is out of his office," he said carefully.

"Yes, I noted that as well. Each location needs to be scouted, but one of them should be suitable," Anna replied.

He looked down, then grinned. He turned the sheet around, pointing at one particular location. "This one would have the best effect," he announced.

Anna smiled. "I thought so, as well. But it's your call, Carlos. Alberto takes orders from you, not me. I would suggest that if he wants to ensure a clean hit and get away, he should organize some sort of diversion at the same time."

Carlos looked at her for a moment, then he stood and walked over to Alberto. "Alberto, come. We have plans to make. We shall discuss this is the parlor."

Anna watched the two men step into the adjoining room and seal the door behind them. She smiled slightly and tapped the decanter on the table with her wand. From the mouth of the open bottle she could hear the voices of Carlos and Alberto speaking in Spanish. Carlo never learned that she could speak Spanish, and six other European languages. There was a reason she was one of the best prostitutes in Knockturn Alley. Her ability to get along with any customer was legendary.

Alberto entered the room and turned to look at Carlos, his expression clearly unhappy. "What troubles you, old friend?" asked Carlos.

"This location, senor. Last time we attacked there, we encountered dragons," Alberto replied.

Carlos grunted in acknowledgment. "I will contact our Department of Mysteries. I know they have been working on something that they think will work against dragons. It was originally designed to kill a Nundu. If it can do that, then a dragon should be easy. Perhaps they can send it to us so it can be tested, no?"

Alberto grinned at him and Carlos reached for a map. "Now let us determine how to best approach this location."

Anna corked the bottle and tapped it with her wand. The tiny voices stopped and wouldn't restart unless they talked about her directly. She didn't need to listen to everything. One of the portraits in the room was doing that for her.

**The Weyr Clinic, Campbeltown Weyr, June 8th..**

Chekiath flared out and landed as gently as possible in front of the Weyr clinic. Doctor Sheppard and Lisa Turpin were already outside, waiting for him. Chekiath had called ahead via Zinth, Lisa's dragon, letting them know that Harry was injured and he was coming straight there. Harry groaned in pain and carefully swung his leg over Cheki's neck, then he turned and started to slide down to where Cheki's massive front leg was positioned. He landed on the Cheki's leg and his leg folded under him causing him to fall the remaining six feet to the ground.

Both Chekiath and Harry screamed as he hit the ground. His pants leg was still smoldering with glowing red embers and it had pressed against his flesh again. Harry struggled for a moment more then Issac and Lisa were by his side, cutting away the burning fabric.

Corporal Stone exited the clinic carrying a stretcher, which he placed next to Harry. Issac finished cutting the pant leg and then he pulled it off his patient's leg as gently as he could. He tossed the burning remnant aside, then used his wand to put out the rest of the still burning material still attached.

Issac nodded to Stone to help them move him onto the stretcher. Once he was on it, Issac took the time to examine the damage to Harry's leg.

"What happened, Harry?" he asked. His leg had second degree burns extending from mid thigh to mid calf and was already blistering. The burn was undoubtedly painful, but it could have been so much worse.

He looked at Harry and was surprised. Anyone else would be screaming bloody murder, but Harry was silently gritting his teeth.

"Smoke rocket. Got caught," Harry said tightly.

"_He got hit by one of those smokey rocket things,"_ Chekiath said worriedly. _"We were observing the practice when one of them hit Harry and caught in his harness, setting his pant leg on fire."_

Issac nodded, then he moved to the back of the stretcher and grabbed the handles, Corporal Stone grabbed the front and they both lifted. "Lisa, bring in what's left of that material. I want to take a look at it," Issac said with a grunt.

The two men carried Harry into the clinic building, while Lisa packed up the emergency kit and collected the burnt leftover of Harry's flight suit.

"Will he be all right?"

Lisa looked up to see Ronan and dozens of other riders nearby, all of them looking anxiously on.

"Doctor Sheppard didn't appear too alarmed. If it had been really bad, I'm certain he would have called for an ambulance," Lisa said firmly. "What happened to him?"

Ronan frowned. "We were working on missile spotting and he got hit by one of the bloody things."

Comaloth and Trath landed nearby. Hermione and May scrambled down from their dragons and looked around worriedly. "He's inside with Doctor Sheppard," Lisa said to the anxious pair.

Both women turned and dashed up the stairs into the building. Lisa chuckled and shook her head.

Inside the building, Harry lay on an exam table. Issac was busy dealing with the blistering, then he would apply a burn cream he had. It wasn't a magical remedy - even in the magical world burns were difficult to treat. He would obtain some help from Poppy later, but for now, Sheppard had to use what he had on hand. As for Harry, he lay back, his eyes closed and seemed to be lightly dozing thanks to a dose of pain relief potion. Unlike in the muggle world, here in the Weyr, he could combine treatment methods for best effect.

He turned to the two women and smiled reassuringly. "He's fine. He's got a large patch of second degree burns that we have to treat normally, but he's already on a pain relief potion."

"Normally? Why can't you call Madam Pomfrey?" asked Hermione.

May placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. It was impossible to miss the tremor in her voice. Issac glanced up at the girls, then looked at Harry, who was still dozing. "Hermione, I'm a doctor, not a healer. We don't stock any magical remedies for burns. So right now I have to treat his leg or he risks infection. Magic can do a lot. I know there's a burn cream for very bad burns and there's a treatment for a light burn like a sunburn, but a second degree burn falls between the two and neither treatment works very well for that. I do intend to ask Madam Pomfrey if that's changed, but first I have to help Harry.

"Even if Poppy has something that can help him, right now I need to finish dressing his burn," Issac added.

"Ladies," Sirius said into the room and placing an arm around each of them. "Why don't you have a seat in the outer waiting room and let Issac do his job. I'm sure he'll be able to answer any questions you might have once he's done."

Sirius ushered the two women into another room and Issac shot him a grateful nod. He was used to dealing with distraught families, but he preferred doing so after he had treated his patient.

"Issac, once I get them settled, I'll go get Poppy," Sirius offered.

"Thanks, Sirius," Issac muttered, then he turned back to Harry. "Tilt the lamp a little more to the left, Lisa."

A hour later, he stepped out of the room and spotted an outer office full of people. Poppy Pomfrey stood by his side. Sirius had taken Norendrath to Hogwarts to bring the healer to the Weyr after he had managed to get the girls settled.

"He's fine," Issac said. "Madam Pomfrey does have something for second degree burns, but until he's awake we don't want to use that treatment."

"Why not?" asked Remus, looking concerned.

"The treatment is experimental, Remus," Poppy offered. "Right now we know it will heal him, but it'll leave a nasty scar. If we leave it alone to heal naturally, he'll be uncomfortable for a few days, but the scaring would be a lot less. When he wakes, we'll ask what he wants to do."

Everyone fell silent. Most knew Harry was rather self conscious about his scars and would probably decide not to try the magical treatment if it mean gaining another.

"How did this happen? Harry and the wings have been practicing for two weeks with the smoke rockets and this is the first time that anyone got hurt," Issac demanded.

"That would be my fault," Katherine said quietly. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Sergeant Nichols pointed out to me that Harry quickly picked up on spotting the rocket trails and became proficient at avoiding them. But in the past week he had been observing and calling out warnings to others, rather than participating in the drill himself. I forgot to inform Nichols that Harry had excused himself from the drill. Nichols didn't know that, so he probably sent a rocket in Harry's direction as a reminder to pay attention," Katherine admitted unhappily. "The rocket took a weird turn and it hit him in the leg. Somehow it got tangled up in his riding harness."

Sirius stepped forward and sent a hard glare at Hermione and May, who looked angry enough to explode. "All right, everyone simmer down. Mistakes were made, that's all. Communications got messed up. That's something we can fix. It also would have helped if Harry had sent a general staff routed message saying that he'd be observing and calling out warnings. I know Nichols gets the staff routed messages as the Range Master.

"The issue here is simple. No more firing rockets at unsuspecting people, and I'll talk to Harry about what he did wrong. May, is Chekiath all right?" Sirius said.

May nodded. "He's fine. Dragons don't seem to be affected by fire, except from another dragon. I checked him over, but there's not even a mark on him."

"There's one other issue I have to bring up," Issac said ominously. The whole room tensed at his words.

"What issue, Doctor Sheppard?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"The smoke rockets burn out very quickly. Harry had perhaps maybe five to ten seconds of exposure before the thing burned out. What worries me is his insulated flight suit continued to burn even after the rocket went out. I don't know what the insulator is, but I suspect its very flammable. At a minimum, it's a substance that ignites easily and continues to burn even when doused with water. And if that's the case, it's wholly unsuitable for people who fly fire breathing dragons for a living."

The room relaxed in relief. Flammable suits they could deal with. "I'll send a notice to Karen to look into it. She arranged for the new insulated suits. Maybe we can change out the material for something less flammable," May offered.

"I'll want to see some tests run on the material, both in the suits now in use and any replacement material," Issac said firmly. "Let's get this squared away before someone gets badly hurt. Right now I am strongly against any riders using the insulated suits until the matter is investigated and resolved."

May nodded and said, "I'll let Karen know."

"Garanoth?" called Ronan.

"_Yes, Ronan?"_ replied the dragon.

"Would you please inform the Wing Leaders that everyone should go back to using the old flight suits until we work this out?" Ronan said.

There was a moment of pause, then everyone clearly heard Spath tell Garanoth to pass the message along. Ronan looked surprised by Spath's order, but then he understood. There was no clear leader without Harry. It was an issue that would have to be addressed sooner or later.

Sirius chuckled sourly. "What is it Harry says? Fix one problem, find ten new ones hiding behind it. So, the suits are covered for now. How long will he be here in hospital?"

Issac shrugged. "An hour or so. I doped him up pretty heavily so I could work on his leg. That's wearing off. In a little bit I'll give him something not quite as strong and send him on his way. But he's down checked for any flights Between until I say so. At least a week, possibly longer, depending on what treatment option he picks."

"Cheki? Did you hear that? Harry is not allowed Between until Doctor Sheppard says he's healed," May said firmly. She knew the large dragon was on the roof listening to every word said. May, as the Weyrhealer, and Doctor Sheppard were the only two people present who were allowed to prohibit flights Between due to illness or injury. In May's case, she actually shared the position with Hagrid, as one of the two senior Weyrhealers for the dragons. Hagrid had more general experience in dealing with magical animals, while May was busy applying modern veterinary techniques in combination with magical healing. There were other riders training under May and Hagrid, but none were as advanced as she was. Her experience growing up around animals and helping care for them made her uniquely suited for the job, and in some ways, she was more advanced in healing than even Hagrid.

"_I understand, Weyrhealer,"_ Chekiath said worriedly. _"But Harry will be all right?"_

May and Hermione shared a small smile. "He'll be fine, Cheki," Hermione reassured. "We're just waiting for him to wake up."

"_He's starting to wake up now,"_ Cheki replied, _"but he seems very confused. His thoughts are all jumbled up and inverted. I know he's never covered you both in front of a fire place and why is the skin of an animal involved? I don't understand. Oh, wait, the animal skin just caught fire now. Is that part of the human mating? I've never seen you burn any animal skins except when Hermione tries cooking."_

Poppy and Issac turned and entered the room where Harry had been sleeping. Hermione turned beet red and May smirked at her reaction. She knew in her heart that Harry loved them both and that when they were alone, he could be a real horny devil and this snippet from his confused mind only proved that point.

Outside, they could hear the large dragon bellow in alarm. The confusion Harry's dragon was receiving was causing Chekiath to panic.

"Chekiath!" snapped May. "Your rider is confused because of the pain potion, give him a few minutes to orient himself. There's nothing wrong."

"_Are you sure?"_

"Yes, Cheki, we're sure," May replied patiently.

May was more accustomed to dealing with Riders who tended to become very emotionally upset when their dragons where ill, so it came to no surprise to her that Chekiath was just reflecting the same behavior from the other end of the bond. They had similar experiences when Lee had been badly injured. Soranth had been nearly incoherent.

Thirty minutes later, Issac and Poppy escorted a very pale looking Harry from the treatment room. His pants were in shreds and one leg was heavily bandaged.

Issac looked at Hermione and May. "He is not to get the bandage wet and I want to see him right after breakfast tomorrow so we can change it. I've explained his treatment options and he's going to go with a natural healing."

Issac turned to Hermione. "He can bathe, but make sure one of you casts a bubble head charm over the bandage. That will keep it dry. If he bathes tonight or tomorrow, make sure someone is with him. Baths only, not showers. I expect he'll be unsteady on is feet for a day or two."

Hermione nodded with a look of surprise. She hadn't known that the bubble head charm could be cast on other parts of the body.

"We'll need to send someone to the Diagon Alley apothecary to pick up some pain potions. Most likely he'll be using them for the next three or four days," Issac said.

"I'll take care of that as soon as I leave here," Remus offered.

May stepped up to Harry and scowled at him. "As Weyrhealer, I am officially informing you that you are officially grounded until such time as Doctor Sheppard informs me your leg is healed," she said firmly.

Harry winced and nodded. He knew he had messed up. He had been so busy trying to help some of the riders who seemed to have trouble spotting the rockets that he never saw the one shot at him until it was too late.

"Harry," Katherine said softly. "I'm sorry. I should have informed Nichols you were only observing. He thought you weren't paying attention to the drill."

Harry smiled weakly. "I should have paid more attention. We avoided any rockets that missed the others. But I didn't see this one. It hit my thigh and got caught in the harness."

"_Harry? Are you better?"_ asked Chekiath worriedly. The large dragon had calmed now that Harry's mind wasn't muddled by the pain relief potion Issac had given him.

Harry glanced at May, who was looking at him sternly. "I'm better, mate. But it looks like we'll be relaxing for the next few days."

Sirius snorted back a laugh and both of his girls glared at him for downplaying his injury. "Come on, Harry. Katherine has a car out front. Let's get you home," Sirius said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

Harry nodded and walked slowly towards the door. He paused in front of May and Hermione and gave them each a smile. "All right there?"

Both girls lunged for him, and he found himself in a two way hug that felt rather nice, considering how crappy and weird he felt at the moment.

Two hours later, Hermione exited the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her. She turned and smiled at May. "He's sleeping. That potion really knocked him back," she said, then she walked over to the table where Dobby had left a tea service and poured herself a cup.

May held up a burned harness. "His harness is shot. It's partially melted. I think we might want to look at that, too, when we look at the flight suit problem," she said, then she shivered slightly. "I about died when Trath said Harry was injured and heading straight to the clinic."

Hermione chuckled softly as she sat down on the opposite end of the couch and turned to face May. "I'm not laughing at you, but this is so typical of him. At least once a year he'd end up in the infirmary at school, sometimes more than once," she replied, then she shrugged. "I guess I'm used to it."

May nodded and fingered her ring thoughtfully. "I suppose. I'm just not used to someone I love being hurt."

"May, this was an accident. A couple of simple mistakes resulted in an accident. It could have been a lot worse. He's been working very hard. We all have in all the rush to get ready for opening the Weyr, and the rush to prepare for a possible attack, some mistakes were made. We both know he hasn't been missing any sleep, and we make sure he isn't over working himself. What happened today was just an accident that could have happened to anyone. We should count ourselves lucky that we haven't had a really serious accident yet. And we discovered the problem with our suits without someone being killed."

May nodded. "Maybe this will do some good. This is going to force us to step back and look at what we're doing. I'm certain we'd have more injuries by now if it weren't for those elves. I'm glad they're here. I don't know what we'd do without their help," she admitted. "They repainted the interior of the hospital in a single day. I had visions of the place being crowded with scaffolding and riders trying to paint, while standing on a rickety platform."

Hermione nodded. She knew the elves were bound to the Weyr and, by proxy, the magical riders and wizards living here. She also knew they drew a wage for their efforts. "Painting a big empty building with forty foot ceilings would have been difficult," she admitted. "I could just see Harry out there hanging onto his broom and painting, all the while listening to Cheki complain about how he doesn't need a broom anymore."

"Well, he doesn't fly it anymore does he? Other than Cheki, or the occasional trip to the Prime Minister via helicopter, the only other thing he flies is his model plane."

Both girls smiled at that thought. It was one of the few things Harry did that reminded anyone he was still a teenager, albeit a teen with a lot of resources behind him. He had Dobby and his team of elves construct a small one room building just off of one runway for himself and a few others that had caught the model plane bug. Inside, they had a workshop and several of them were working together to build a larger scale model that would require two people to control.

With the exception of Ronan, everyone else was still new to the hobby. So while Ronan worked on the design and made parts for his design, he had everyone else making small pieces of wing so they could learn how to properly shape them and glue on the lightweight fabric used for the skin.

Neither girl wanted to complain about it, despite the fact that sometimes he'd return home late, covered in wood shavings and smelling like glue. The smile on his face said it all for them. And like May pointed out, it was a safer hobby than car racing, or skydiving.

"Hermione, do you really think this guy is going to attack the Weyr?" asked May suddenly.

Hermione paused and played with her cup of tea for a bit. "I don't know. The British government sees it as a legitimate threat. Harry sees it as a possible threat, but he's looking at a bigger picture."

"How so?"

She put her cup on the table. "I've been thinking a lot about the changes in Harry. Take the hot rocks we make. That can be used in place of oil and that will impact certain countries and their economy. Harry understood before most of us that some people might not like our coming along with a cheaper alternative than their oil. When he first announced that he believed not everyone would like dragons, none of us wanted to believe that. How could anyone not like a dragon?

She glanced towards the door where Harry lay sleeping, then she looked back at May. "His childhood ended the night his parents were murdered. Since that night, he's been fighting for survival. When he impressed Cheki, he simply accepted his new role and continued on, only now he's fighting for us.

"We can provide transportation and cargo carrying services that could harm the airline companies. Sir Robert was talking about using hot rocks to replace the nuclear reactor in submarines, and in everyday items like buses and trains. Just about every other day Sir Robert is talking about something we can do and I can't help but worry that we're racking up an awful lot of potential enemies. Harry saw it before I did. He saw it before anyone did. He can't help it. His upbringing trained him for this kind of thing."

May frowned. "How? I know his family wasn't nice to him, but how does that figure into this?"

Hermione's voice dropped lower and she repressed a shiver. "He explained it to me one day. How his cousin had a game called Harry Hunting, where his gang would chase Harry down and beat him. Harry learned to look for attacks, to expect them and to anticipate them and work to avoid them. When he went to Hogwarts, he tried to lose that attitude, but the attacks still came, so he started trying to anticipate them again. In Hogwarts, there was little he could do to avoid them, but that's changed.

"Now he leads a nation of nearly ten thousand dragons. And he's still looking around cautiously. Why do you think he was so quick to call for the Weyr to evacuate that time? He trusts the British only so far. It's amusing, but his lessons in diplomacy are showing him that today's ally can be tomorrow's enemy. I won't say he doesn't trust James or the Prime Minister, but he's trying to be cautious.

"It doesn't matter if this rogue Chinese agent leads an attack against us. Harry knows sooner or later someone will attack us because of what we are and what we can do," Hermione added softly. "He wants us to live peacefully and I think if an attack never comes, no one will be happier than Harry. But his nature says it's coming and that's why we drill like we do. No one wants to throw away our crossbows and uniforms more than he does, but he believes we need them."

May shivered. "I hadn't considered that," she said, then she looked over to the three dragons watching the two girls. "I should be worried, but strangely I'm not."

Hermione nodded in response. They were dragon riders and they would get through this because no one but the riders themselves understood the real power the dragons had. It wasn't a case of being over confident as it was one of being confident in their dragons and their Weyrleader.

* * *

**Author's notes and Mockeries:**

* There's been a few comments about hints we've dropped. Sometimes a hint isn't a hint, its a red herring, and other times it's a foreshadowing of something that won't happen until Book III. How do you know which is which? You don't, and that is the joke. I know you don't think it's funny, but Alyx and I are rolling here. It's really funny. No really.

* Speaking of funny, in the last chapter Albus Dumbledore got attacked. We had no end of guesses from people about who attacked him. One weird person claimed it was a Jay Leno impersonator on drugs. Hunh? Well no it wasn't. Point in fact most of you that actually read this chapter will learn more about who attacked Albie. On the other hand, those of you demanding to know who did it, we've censored that information out of this chapter just for you. Patience is a virtue.

* A couple people suggested that a dragon should be sent to talk to Percy. Honestly I don't know where that idea came from, but Harry isn't about to order a dragon to talk to someone they don't know. While Harry might admire what Percy did, and it might increase his respect for the git, this is a Weasley bonding moment, not a Weasley dragon bonding moment.

* Dadscooking asks "If someone has a bottomless bag, wouldn't anything they put into it fall forever?" Dadscooking has spent too much time cooking spam and broccoli souffles with butterscotch topping and forgot to read the instructions on the bottomless bags that explained the built in summoning charms. God I hope Mom's cooking tonight!

* Spaz86, the dragons originated from a Queen just prior to fourth pass.

And this chapter's recommendation is:

**The Janus Order** by **Chubby Redburn**  
StoryID: **2320267**

This is an old story and I think the author has left fan fiction but it's well worth giving it a read. This is a tale in less than 20K about a Harry Potter that grew up with a loving Paternal aunt in a different environment. Published in 05 before the last two books.


	16. Chapter 16

**Standard Disclaimer:**

"Stop!"

Alyx looked up from her keyboard in annoyance. "What?" she snarled.

Bob thrust a thick handful of papers under her nose. "You can't continue the Who who epic! You're in contract violation!"

Alyx snatched the papers from his hand and started looking them over. "Contract violation?"

Bob nodded smugly. "Yep, we are required by our contract to include a certain number of Llamas, technicolor penguins and exploding clowns in our disclaimers. All you've done for the last sixteen chapters is obsess over Draco's who who!"

"That can't be right," Alyx muttered. "Are you sure?"

Bob pointed to the contract. "It's all in there," he replied with a smirk.

Alyx huffed, then she picked up a cup and hurled it into the audience. There was a hideous girlie like scream and more knowledgeable readers recognized the death scream of Ron Weasley. "Damn damn damn!" she moaned. "What am I going to do now?"

Bob shrugged. "You only have two options open to you. You either abandon your Who who epic," Bob said.

Alyx's expression fell and her lower lip quivered.

Bob hurried his explanation along. "Or you somehow find a way to integrate Llamas, Penguins and exploding clowns into your who who epic."

Alyx stared at Bob incredulously, then she sprang to her feet. "Eureka!" she shouted, causing Bob to fall backwards into the orchestra pit. "That's what I'll do."

Bob climbed out of the pit and noted Alyx was busily typing away furiously at her computer. He turned to the audience. "While Alyx reworks her storyline, I'd like to say we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern. Additionally I'd like to add it's amusing what a phoney contract can make someone do."

Bob walked off the stage chuckling to himself.

Alyx paused to read. "While the evil Harry Potter slept, Larry the Llama and Pete the Penguin stole into his fortress to steal the precious Who who. Larry and Pete were surprised to discover the Who who vault guarded by Bobo the exploding clown..."

"It's brilliant!" Alyx shouted. "Eat your heart out William Shakespeare! This is literature!"

* * *

**A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.  
- Benjamin Franklin**

**The Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, June 13th...**

Harry walked into the hall and nodded in greeting, then he went to the head of the hall. His leg was still bandaged, and he was still officially grounded but that didn't stop him from performing most of his duties.

About once a week he had to make general announcements to the riders and staff of the Weyr. This was easier than calling for a meeting.

"Good morning," he said with a smile. "I have received a request from the Ministry of Magic, asking for a wing of dragons to attend a special ceremony at the Hogsmeade school. Although school is officially out for the summer break, the children and the staff wanted to honor the dragons and the people involved in preventing the attack back in February. Headmistress Early has requested that the children return for a special day of fun and picnicking followed by a short ceremony. Deputy Minister of Magic Sir William O'Hearny and some of his people will be attending as well."

May frowned in her seat and Harry noted her expression. "May, I know I'm still grounded, but this event isn't scheduled until June 20th. If I'm still grounded at that point I'll just ask Remus to make me a portkey. Chekiath can meet me at the school. Will that satisfy my Weyrhealer and Doctor?"

Several chuckled and May looked over at Issac who nodded. "All right Harry we'll do it that way," May replied.

"Harry?"

"Yes Karen?"

"I have contacted the company that made the flight suits. The insulation is a complex polyester mix. Until we brought it up they never even considered the flammability of the material. I've talked to James and he plans on sending a spare suit to SATRA for testing in the meanwhile we'll need to go back to the older suits. Our manufacturer is looking for better material and they'll ensure its tested this time." Karen said. "Normally custom orders like this aren't required to be tested unless the customer demands it, that's why it slipped past the normal consumer testing."

SATRA was a UK company that was dedicated to providing flammability testing for just about anything.

Several people grumbled about that and Harry quelled them with a glare. "What happened to me could have been much worse. For now we'll return to the lighter flight suits. Meanwhile we'll get the issue with the suits fixed," Harry said loudly, catching everyone's attention.

Issac stood from his table. "The existing suits are a danger to everyone that uses them. The material is slow burning, it burns rather hotly, its easy to ignite and hard to put out. I am not equipped to handle severe burns so most likely I'd be stuck sending you on to a burn center. This is an avoidable risk and one that can be fixed so lighten up people. You'll get your suits back after we've found a safer insulation."

Harry nodded. "Thank you Issac. Before I go get my own breakfast does anyone else have anything for me?"

Susan waved from the corner table she sat in. "I'd like to meet with you today to talk about the housing issue. We have enough housing for just two more impressions, and I have a preliminary design on a building we can build to house more riders."

Harry pulled out his list and scribbled a note to himself in it. "Today at ten good enough?"

Susan nodded and turned back to her breakfast.

**The clinic, Campbeltown Weyr, June 19th...**

Harry blushed and glanced over at Hermione and May who stood off to one side while Issac and Madam Pomfrey examined his leg. The bandage had been removed a few days ago and they were checking to see how well it healed.

May stood holding Harry's pants while he stood there in his boxers, blushing which cause no end of amusement for both girls. At home it wasn't unusual for the three of them to change in the same room. Strict nudity was not the order of the day, but none of them were bothered to see each other naked from time to time.

Of course Harry never counted on being in his boxers in front of Issac and Madam Pomfrey.

"So no sensitive areas Harry?" asked Poppy.

"No, now that the itching has faded, none," he replied. He sat on the examining table watching Poppy and Issac poke and prod at his leg. Issac had even pushed up one side of his boxer shorts to fully expose the burned area.

Poppy straightened up and smiled. "I know the new skin looks strange, but once you get out and get some sun it'll darken up like it should."

"So does this mean I'm cleared for flight?" Harry asked, looking at Issac hopefully.

Issac glanced at Poppy who nodded her agreement, his leg appeared to be fully healed. "Yes, starting tomorrow since I know you have a Weyr function to attend to. But I want your promise, if you start to feel the slightest discomfort, you are to come back to the Weyr using a portkey or have someone apparate you. We know Between can cause problems with wounds, so we don't want to risk further damage."

Harry nodded. He'd promise to eat a goat if it got him flight certified again!

"We'll make sure of it Doctor Sheppard," Hermione said softly.

Harry grimaced and nodded again. "Well with May and Hermione watching I doubt I'll be able to hide anything," he muttered.

"_Even if you did, I would still know,"_ Chekiath announced suddenly. _"I want you healed so we can fly again."_

Harry held up his hand in surrender. Even his dragon was wanting to play nurse maid! "I give," he said in resignation, then he turned to Issac. "Good enough for you?"

Issac grinned. "I have heard all about you as a patient Mr. Potter," he said smoothly with a glance at Poppy who was grinning at Harry. "You would say you were fine and ask to leave while bleeding out on my floor."

Poppy chuckled and shook her head. "I'll say."

May stepped closer and touched Harry on his shoulder. He turned to look at her. "Harry," she said quietly. "Forgetting your relationship with Hermione and I, you are important to the Weyr. I know it seems like we're stopping you from doing what you want, but only because we care what happens to you."

He nodded uncomfortably and took his pants from her. "Are we done?" he asked Issac.

"Yes, you can get dressed now. Tomorrow Harry, and if everything goes well, there'll be no more flight restrictions on you. One more day isn't that bad is it?" Issac said in reply.

Harry sighed. "No, not really."

He quickly put on his pants and held the door open for the girls before following them out.

Issac started to pack up this files and equipment when Poppy stopped him. "Issac, I'd like you to remain here as a consultant for my next patient. I would have seen him back at Hogwarts, but I sent him a message saying I would be here and would see him here."

Issac looked up in surprise. "Albus?" he said. He had been closely monitoring the old man since he moved back to the Weyr to recover from his injury. There were several signs that alarmed Issac greatly and he had spoken to Poppy about them.

She nodded. "As you noted in your reports to me, his blood pressure is not well controlled, and given his advanced age, it poses a considerable risk to his health. I've known about it for some time and have tried to help him control it, but it hasn't been easy at all. There are few potions for controlling blood pressure and they have limited usefulness. It's not a problem most healers see often, except in the extremely older patients."

"Do you want me to prescribe something? We've got a large number of good drugs we can use," Issac offered.

Poppy smiled regretfully, "While that will work very well for your riders, even the magical ones, in the case of a man like Albus who has lived his entire life in the wizarding world it just won't work. His entire mindset is towards magical solutions and if you try applying a non-magical one, he will subconsciously counteract it's effects. He won't even know he's doing it. If I had my way I would expose young wizards and witches to muggle medicine before they come to Hogwarts, let them become accustomed to the idea that there are viable alternatives. I have tried for years, but Albus never saw the need for it, and the Board of Governors would never approve it in any case."

She sighed. "I'm sure you have many ways you could help, but truly, in this case belief in magic is our greatest enemy."

Issac nodded. "So that's why you downplayed the burn cream for Harry? I had wondered about that."

"I don't like seeing a patient in pain anymore than you do, but Harry's injury was superficial and I know he's very sensitive about his scars. He had his pain managed via potion and the burn healed naturally, helped along with muggle medicines to prevent secondary infections. It wasn't much, but it does instill faith in muggle medicine. And he avoided adding a new scar. I helped deliver that boy into this world and when I think of some of the things he's had to endure, I am quite sure Lily Potter is not going to very pleased to see me," Poppy replied.

"But you had nothing to do with most of his problems!" protested Issac.

Poppy pushed a graying lock of hair behind her ear. "I know, but I still could have done more to help him when he came to school."

"We all wish something similar for our patients Poppy, but enough with the maudlin talk, do you have a case file for Albus?" Issac said. "Also I'll continue using regular medicine unless I have a specific need that isn't easily fixed."

Poppy nodded and pulled a small piece of wood from her pocket, with a deft flick of her wand it expanded into a flat board roughly the size of a sheet of paper. She handed it to him and when he touched a corner, his eyes widened as text appeared floating just above the board. It was a sophisticated recording method which was only now becoming available in the muggle world with higher speed computers. He quickly zeroed in on the data he wanted to examine.

The door opened and Albus stepped inside. He was surprised to see Issac sitting on a chair, studying one of Poppy's patient boards.

Poppy glanced at him and smiled. "Good, you didn't chicken out this time. I hope you don't mind but I have asked Doctor Sheppard to offer a second opinion."

Albus looked between the two and then he sighed. "Why do I think you do not have good news to tell me?"

"Hush you, up on the table and we'll talk after I look over your hip," Poppy said in a gentler tone.

Albus nodded and slowly climbed onto the table. The bone had healed, but hadn't healed as well as he hoped. Barely a day went by where he wasn't reaching for a pain potion or the cane.

Poppy ran her checkup with her usual efficiency, silent and giving nothing away to her patient for the most part. As she did, the patient board automatically updated with the information to Issac's surprise. He'd give anything to be able to track a patient's record like this.

"Issac?" Poppy said, holding out her hand.

He handed her the board and watched as she transferred more information to the board, then she took a seat opposite him.

"Albus, I asked Issac here to look at your medical record. He's only had a few minutes to examine it, but I would like you to be present when he gives me his opinion."

Albus nodded and looked warily at Issac. "Albus," Issac began, "it's hard to consider issues when a patient is over one hundred fifty years old, but you do have one very worrying issue. Your blood pressure is too high and according to Madam Pomfrey, difficult to control adequately. Blood pressure can be affected by any number of factors, from hardening of the arteries to excessive stress, to poor diet or any combination of those factors plus others I haven't mentioned.

"Poppy has described some of her measures in detail in the record but we're still facing the fact that your blood pressure hasn't been properly controlled. If you were my patient I would tell you to seriously think about cutting back on the fatty foods and perhaps retire and take up fishing or some other sedate, relaxing endeavor to enjoy your time."

"And if I don't?" asked Albus with a frown.

"Albus!" exclaimed Poppy.

Issac held up a hand. "Poppy, Albus is perfectly within his rights to reject medical advice. But I see this resulting in several possible outcomes. You could stroke out, most likely, or have a heart attack. In either case given your advanced age either is likely to be fatal."

Poppy nodded. "Albus, I'm your friend, and your healer. I want to remain so for years still, but if you don't slow down that isn't going to happen."

Albus sighed and looked down at the floor for a moment. "I suppose I could retire," he said quietly. It was obvious that he wasn't happy with that.

"Albus, if I may suggest. You were generally fine while you were living at the Weyr and just tutoring the students. If that is what relaxes you maybe you should consider doing some part time teaching. I think the stress from the government work is what is causing your problem," Issac suggested gently. Issac knew that he had just delivered a shock to the old man, now it was time to help him see this could be an opportunity.

Albus looked up at the man with interest. Perhaps this wasn't a bad idea. "I wonder if Harry would mind me moving back here?"

Issac smiled. "I'm sure he'd welcome you with open arms. You know how the dragons feel about you," Issac said. "And with you nearby I'll be able to help you with your diet. Hopefully it won't take much to bring your blood pressure under control."

Albus slid off the table. "I cannot quit the Ministry right away, but I will speak to Sir William and inform him that by the end of the summer I intend to retire for health reasons."

Poppy stood and walked over to him. She gave him a brief hug which shocked him silly. "You're making the right decision Albus," she said warmly. She was pleased that he hadn't put up much of a fight over this.

The old man smiled wanly and then nodded to Issac. "Thank you both, but now I best see if I can find Harry and speak to him about moving back to the Weyr on a permanent basis."

The two watched him leave the room, then Poppy turned to Issac who was frowning. "What is it? He listened finally, I would think that would be a good thing."

Issac shook himself and stood up. "It is a good thing, I'm just hoping it's enough. This could still be a case of 'too little, too late'."

Poppy's expression faltered, she understood where Issac was coming from. Both of them had seen positive measures taken in cases and the outcome was still bad.

"Only time will tell Issac, but thank you for your help." Poppy said softly.

He nodded, then turned back to the thick file he had on Harry Potter and wished he had a patient board like Poppy had.

**The Port of St. Petersburg, Russia, June 19th...**

Jin Tan Mu stared out of the office window and looked at the rusting hulk, optimistically named 'Sea Pearl' and shook his head in disgust. He had been sitting in this run down warehouse for three days waiting for the delivery of a ship that wouldn't be missed. Now he wished he had asked for something that _would be missed_. He had nearly one hundred men and the transportation was barely big enough if he crammed eighty of them aboard.

She was old and slow, a coastal freighter made by the Soviet Union in the mid thirties and she had seen better days. Originally christened the Dejnev, she had been renamed to Sea Pearl when she passed into private hands with the fall of the Soviet Union. Since she had been poorly maintained and could barely make ten knots, down from her original top speed of twelve knots. She had the bare minimum electronics required by maritime law and no functional radar. The radar set was old and waiting on some parts to be delivered which should remedy that problem.

The Pearl stank of oil and was filthy. He had inspected the room that the captain called his "stateroom", it reminded him of some pig farms back home that were cleaner than this floating rust bucket. The only saving grace was the fact that the sheets were clean.

Jin Tan Mu turned from the window with a heavy sigh. He was unused to having such poor equipment to work with. "We will have to make do."

"It is not too bad my friend," Janus, the leader of his mercenary band said. "She's not pretty, but few will believe anyone is going to use her for anything illegal."

Mu nodded. "Few are going to believe anyone would be brave enough to use that tub for anything, but what you say is true. Unfortunately the state of our transportation will require us to change plans. That scow out there is hardly capable of reaching Scotland and we can't afford to sail long in British waters without attracting attention. I'm afraid we're going to have to abandon that scow when we arrive."

"Then we'll need some trucks to load up the equipment then. I take it you plan to make landfall somewhere near Dover?" Janus asked. Dover was one of the closest points to mainland Europe. They would need to remain relatively close to the coast as they sailed, but still far enough out to avoid the coastal patrols.

Mu glanced over at him and nodded. "Yes, we will and we'll need some small boats to off load the ship. Its not like we're going to pull up to a wharf and unload. A customs inspection would have us arrested in seconds."

Janus nodded. "I will take ten men and we will fly to Britain," he said, then he peered at the map they were looking at. "I will meet you here, this place has a beach ideal for us to use some motorized inflatable boats."

Mu looked at the map, Janus was pointing to a place just north of the town of Kingsdown in southern England, and near to the narrowest point in the English channel. "It's going to take us at least twenty days to make that spot. That tub isn't very fast."

Mu glanced up at a calendar and thought for a moment. "Our 'captain' says he'll be ready to sail on the twenty fifth. Be ready to meet us on the seventeenth. We'll pace the trip so that we arrive then."

Janus nodded in approval, a single glance at the wall calendar showed him that the seventeenth would be a moonless night.

"Then I will wait ten days after you have departed and then go to Britain to hire the trucks we'll need," Janus proclaimed.

Mu looked up from the map and stared at the burly Russian with speculative eyes. So far Janus had been extremely helpful to Mu, he had told Mu he missed the days of the great Soviet Union, and he was still a party member, although he had little faith in the existing form of the party.

There was an issue of trust, but Janus had done nothing to suggest that Mu couldn't trust him. In fact, he had been extremely helpful. The other issue was simple. Money. He was nearly out of real currency and the only cash he had left was the cache of counterfeit US dollars. He would have to give Janus at least twenty thousand US dollars to hire the trucks and put up ten men for two weeks while they waited for the ship to arrive.

"Very well, I will give you money to use. You will have to exchange it for British pounds when you arrive in England. Make sure you hire enough trucks to hold our equipment and our men. I don't need to tell you to split your men into smaller groups. We do not want to alert the imperialists by having so many arriving at one time." Mu said. "Try to keep in touch with your phone."

Janus nodded with a defeatist shrug. "My friend, you know as well as I that even a few miles offshore and you'll be out of range."

Tan sighed and waved an acknowledgment. It was true that most mobile phones would have trouble making connections and the Russian telecommunications companies were still struggling just to cover all of Russia.

Janus turned back to the map. "You sail in six days, we'll leave for England on July 2nd, my friend. And perhaps when this is done, your country might find room for us yes? We will need a place to hide for a while."

Mu smiled. "When this is done my country will consider us both heroes. You will be welcome with open arms as heroes of the revolution."

Jin Tan Mu wasn't lying, he truly believed his crimes would be forgiven. If he could just explain it fast enough, given his prior record he was certain his superiors would want to talk to him before dragging him in front of a people's court. Once he explained his actions, they would approve, he was sure of that.

**Hogsmeade School for 'Gifted Children', June 20th...**

School had been out for two weeks, but today was a special day. All of the staff, and the staff of Hogwarts as well as the students from both schools had returned to the school for a day long celebration.

The parents and businesses of Hogsmeade had turned out in full force to help with the event. There were many activities planned, including broom races, apple dunking and even a Pee Wee league Quidditch game. The students were also eagerly watching the skies for the appearance of a wing of dragons that had been invited to attend.

Later, the Deputy Minister of Magic would make a brief speech and present several awards to people, and the dragons that had been responsible for preventing the attack. Neville Longbottom and Elmith were both schedule to receive Orders of Merlin, second class for their efforts, and the Weyrleader would be presented with a plaque from the children, thanking the Weyr for protecting the school.

Edna Early, the headmistress of the Hogsmeade school, stood talking to several parents when the dragons appeared overhead. She looked up and gasped. The skies were full of dragons! Harry had decided that all four manned wings and the rest of the Weyr would attend the celebration, he wanted the non-bonded dragons around to witness Elmith and his team being honored by the Ministry.

The four manned wings flew low over the field behind the school. There was an eerie silence amongst the people watching then the students started cheering for the dragons. Harry and several others waved as they passed over people's heads, then they circled around to discharge their riders in an open area of the Pee Wee Quidditch field. Some of the smaller dragons landed on the Quidditch hoops and stands that had been erected by the businesses of Hogsmeade for the children. These hoops were half the regulation height and used only by the upper years on brooms that were themselves height and speed restricted. Flying was a skill that was being taught earlier now, with Madam Hooch putting the final touches on the student's skills and helping them make the transition to adult brooms.

The non-bonded dragons took up positions wherever they could find the space. In a matter of seconds the roof of the large school was literally covered in dragons.

Edna smiled as the children waited patiently for all of the riders to dismount. They wanted to talk to the dragons very much. Before the attack on the school the children hadn't known the dragons where there, and the dragons hadn't made themselves known to the children. In fact most of the children had been fearful of dragons prior to the attack. After the attack the children spoke to the dragons as much as they could get away with. In that one moment where the dragons rose up to defend the school, the children lost their fear entirely. The dragons never interfered with classes, but were always on hand in the mornings and during the lunch break to talk with the students.

Harry walked over to where Mrs. Early stood. She eyed the approaching young man with interest, he wore his dress uniform in honor of the occasion and she thought it looked very good on him. "Good morning Headmistress," he said with a slight bow. "When we heard that you were making a day long celebration out of this, some of my riders volunteered to give dragon rides to the children. Where would you like them to set up?"

"Dragon rides?" she gasped.

Harry smiled. "Don't worry, they won't go Between, just a loop or two around the school. Many of your students have seen the school from a broom, but there's nothing quite like doing it from dragonback."

Edna looked a bit wistfully towards the line of waiting dragons and Harry smirked. He could easily see what the woman was thinking. "Perhaps it would be best if the Headmistress of her school go first?"

"You mean I can?"

Harry laughed at her reaction. "Unlike a broom you don't need magic to fly a dragon." He turned and signaled to Ronan who trotted up to the pair. "Headmistress, this is Ronan Clark, Garanoth's rider and my Wing second. He'll take you up on his dragon, then when you come back down you can tell him how to organize rides for the children."

Ronan grinned at Harry, then he motioned for Edna to follow him to where Garanoth was waiting.

Harry spotted Frances Sheppard who had come with her parents. Issac was lifting her up into Luna's waiting arms. The little witch was very popular among the girls who seemed to treat her as a little sister and it wasn't uncommon to see her on the back of some dragon. The riders were especially careful with her, no flights Between and nothing too high, but they loved giving her rides and she loved the dragons.

Harry reminded himself that he needed to speak to Margret about legal council for the Weyr. She was the only lawyer he knew and he really hoped her firm could handle the job. The British had suggested some firms, but Harry wanted to keep his options open.

"That was nicely done Harry," said a voice.

He turned and saw Headmistress McGonagall standing nearby with a thin smile on her face. "Edna wouldn't admit it, but I think she always wanted to ride a dragon," she said.

Harry faced Minerva. "Sometimes I think Wizards have done a great disservice by hiding from the rest of the world."

Minerva blinked and looked at him with narrowing eyes. "Oh?" The idea of Harry dismissing a foundation of their society didn't sit well with her.

"Professor, a muggle child grows up in a world filled with magical people and characters, Peter Pan, Santa Claus, Tinkerbell even Gandalf the wizard and a friendly ghost named Casper. Slowly they come to realize that there is no magic, no greater power, just a life that isn't always fun and is often filled with pain. Mrs. Early looks around at all the magic at Hogsmeade and the accidental magic from her students and can't help feel a little wistful like she once felt when she was seven, just before she realized that Santa Claus isn't real. Now she knows magic is real, but only for a small group of people."

He gestured towards Ronan who sat behind Mrs. Early on Garanoth as they swooped through the skies overhead. "Riding a dragon, even if for only an instant, puts a little magic into her life and just for a little while that seven year old girl is back. Wizards hid that from the world. More than anything else, by taking away the magical world and hoarding it for only themselves, they made the muggle world a place with less hope and less joy."

Minerva looked at him in shock. "I never thought of it quite like that." Harry's explanation made sense to her and she found herself no longer sure about some long held beliefs.

Harry smiled. "I know, and you weren't the one to hide the truth from the world. Someday the truth will be known and people will come to see the unicorns and griffons. They will be uplifted by knowing that there are some truly pure creatures in the world. And overhead dragons will fill their skies, sharing the world and the wonder of it. People don't need to be magic to enjoy magic Professor."

Minerva was silent for a moment, then she reluctantly nodded. "And what is this I hear about you having an unusual relationship," she asked disapprovingly.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Professor, as much as I hate to disappoint you, I'm afraid my relationships are not for public consumption. Dragons and their riders are groping for a path and coming to grips with the idea that their bond is a two way street. My dragon has instincts that influence him and me, just as I have feelings that influence us both. For the first time in my life I find myself in a situation where I know someone loves me. First it was my dragon, then came two very special girls and their dragons."

Harry paused and his gaze sought out one person, then he pointed in her direction. "Millicent Bulstrode found love with two muggle boys. Who am I to say it's wrong? The dragons found the grouping to their liking and that influenced the riders. In a way both human and dragons reinforced the concept. I can point out two other groups of three riders forming up, and others that are in traditional pairs. The world will have to understand that our ways aren't always going to be considered normal. If that disappoints you, I'm sorry, but it's not going to change. I now have a family that consists of two wonderful girls and three dragons and I wouldn't give that up for anything."

Comaloth bellowed nearby and Minerva started. Both Hermione and May left their dragons, heading for Harry. Minerva looked surprised to see Hermione striding up to Harry and she was shooting Minerva an angry look.

Harry smiled and held out a hand to Hermione who took it, then May took his other hand. Both girls seemed to calm with Harry's touch. He turned back to Minerva. "This isn't some teenaged wild fantasy Minerva," he said softly, surprising her by using her name. "This isn't about one boy with two girlfriends or one man with two wives, it's about six people who care enough to believe they can be a family. Our dragons are here, in our minds every second of the day just as we are in theirs."

"_We can feel the love all the time,"_ Trath announced suddenly. _"It's especially strong when Harry covers May or Hermione, but it's always there, always growing. And Harry loves me no less than he loves my rider."_

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything," Minerva replied, a bit surprised by Harry's heated reply.

Harry smiled. "I know. I asked around when I first realized what was happening and found it's illegal even in the magical world with the exception of either a mistress or a concubine bond and I refuse to let either of my ladies submit to that. It is our intent to avoid discussing publicly our relationships. But the Weyr will have to forge a new path for itself. You are important to us, hence why we're willing to explain it. There are other people that we won't explain it to."

Minerva eyed him quietly for a moment, he stood there with an arm wrapped around two girls. His attitude wasn't defensive or apologetic like it would have been for the old Harry. It was a very different Harry than the one she was used to.

"Are you happy?" she asked suddenly.

Harry smiled and pulled the girls a little tighter to him. "We are," he replied, answering for all of them. Both girls echoed his smile.

"We are very happy Professor," Hermione said. "It was very hard at first and very strange. I think I was the one to fight the hardest against it, but even I saw the truth in the end."

"The truth?"

"Dragons influence their riders, and the riders influence their dragons," May replied softly. "Chekiath wanted Trath and Comaloth as consorts. That was enough to allow us to consider the idea. Harry loves us both and we knew if he was pushed him to choose between us, none of us would be happy. Did Harry's feelings for me and Hermione influence Chekiath in his choice? Probably. It's not one of those spells you wizards use to force people to do stuff, it's more subtle and gentle. The dragons felt a certain way, and that was enough to try to see what they saw."

Several children yelled happily and they all turned to watch a group of very young students crowding around Elmith and his four companions. Those were the school's dragons if you listened to the children. Some of the older children had even spent the time listening to some of the dragons and doing a report on their personal memories, a history of Europe from a dragon's perspective Mrs. Early called it.

Minerva cracked a small smile as she watched Luna showing several children how to brush and oil a dragon.

A small chime sounded from a roped off section nearby, then suddenly a group four of aurors appeared. The aurors left the roped off area and took up position around it. A moment later Albus Dumbledore, Alejandro Croaker and Sir William O'Hearny all appeared. Both younger men had a hand on Albus, steadying him.

Mrs. Early's assistant hurried over to greet the men, then she pointed skyward. The three men all smiled spotting Mrs. Early. Garanoth made a sharp banking turn and neatly landed so she could go greet her special guests.

Minerva turned back to Hermione. "So which one of you will become Mrs Potter?" she asked.

"We both will," May said, "well sort of. We were told that the Irish druids had a service that they could perform and Mister Dumbledore was kind enough to introduce us to a druid priestess he knew."

Harry closed his eyes and groaned slightly and Hermione turned to him in alarm. "Harry are you all right?"

"We weren't supposed to mention that," he muttered.

Minerva's eyes flared. "Eddie? Eddie Took? He introduced you to my little sister after he promised he'd not speak to her anymore? The conniving old sneak!"

Minerva's nostrils flared and she looked about. "Albus Dumbledore! I want a word with you!" she shouted.

Albus looked up in alarm to see Minerva steaming towards her and his complexion paled dramatically.

"Oops?" said May in confusion.

"I meant to tell you guys that we weren't supposed to mention Eddie to Professor McGonagall," Harry said sheepishly. "I forgot."

Hermione looked towards the now largely vacated area where only Minerva and Albus stood. Albus looked to be trying to placate her and she was waving her arms about wildly. The fact that this was done in total silence signaled the presence of a silencing charm.

"I wonder what that is all about?" Hermione murmured.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know the story but I got the impression that Eddie was something like Sirius Black, the black sheep of the family."

May frowned. "That doesn't seem right, she seemed like a very nice lady. I like her."

Harry repeated his shrug. "I can only tell you what Albus told me and I'm sure he didn't tell me the whole story," he offered.

"Incoming Weasley alert," Hermione cautioned.

Harry looked in the direction of Hermione's gaze and spotted Arthur and Molly Weasley approaching. Arthur seemed genuinely pleased to see Harry, but Molly was scowling up a thunderstorm.

"She doesn't look happy at all," murmured May in alarm. "Should I be concerned?"

Harry nodded. He stood holding the hands of both girls who were standing very close to him. Just from their position they were implying something that was sure to set the Weasley matriarch off. Not wanting them to bear the brunt of her ire, he released their hands and wrapped an arm around each girl's waist, pulling them closer.

"Harry Potter!" exclaimed Molly, her face slowly turning redder than her hair.

"Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, how nice to see you again," Harry said softly. His eye picked up some movement behind the Weasleys, but he ignored it for now.

"Harry, so very good to see you again," gushed Arthur. "It's a wonderful day isn't it? I am surprised to see so many here. And Hermione, just look at how lovely you look!"

May smiled, all of them were wearing their dress uniforms today, so as far as she was concerned, a compliment to Hermione about her looks was also a compliment about their uniforms which she helped design.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley," Hermione replied. "Are the rest of your family here today?"

"The twins are looking for Lee, and I know Ron and Ginny are with their classmates," Arthur replied. "Percy is still recovering, but he wished he could be here."

Harry nodded. "We heard about that. What he did was incredibly brave, he is a credit to his family and to Gryffindor," Harry replied.

"Enough!" thundered Molly. "You stand here as plain as day, canoodling with two. TWO young girls, what have you been doing Harry Potter! Ginny mentioned this but I didn't want to believe it was possible."

Arthur took a step back in surprise and anger flitted across his expression. May moved slightly back and a little behind Harry and Hermione started to say something when Harry spoke, silencing her immediately.

"Mrs. Weasley," he said quietly. "what I do in my personal life is no concern of yours. I have a deep abiding respect for you and your family and now I have to ask, if you continue with your tirade, do you wish for me to lose that respect?"

"Molly be silent," Arthur said commandingly. "Harry is like one of our own, but he lives a life that we can't imagine. We have no say in that, nor any right to question it."

Arthur turned back to Harry and bowed slightly. "My apologies Weyrleader," he said, then he eyed May with interest. "My only comment would be to express a fervent wish for you to be happy in your life, however it unfolds."

Harry smiled at the older man. "I am happy Mr. Weasley and someday I hope to be able to bring our children to your home to play with their Weasley cousins."

Arthur beamed a huge smile and Molly stared between the two in confusion. Neither girl was pregnant and wouldn't be for years yet, but already Harry was thinking ahead. He might not consider himself a wizard anymore, but he wasn't cutting himself off from that world either.

"_Harry is Weyrleader and my rider. I know he is happy with his Weyr and his private life,"_ Chekiath announced. The large dragon had moved right up behind the Weasleys and dropped his invisibility.

Harry grinned and pointed. "Mrs. Weasley, I'd like you to meet my bonded dragon, Chekiath."

Molly Weasley turned and gasped. Arthur stepped closer to Molly in case she needed support. He had met Chekiath once before and knew how big the dragon was.

"Cheki, this is Arthur and Molly Weasley, they are the parents of some friends of ours. Arthur works with Albus at the Ministry of Magic," Harry added.

"_It is nice to meet you both, may you find peace and shelter under our wings,"_ Chekiath replied.

Molly had turned into Arthur's chest and she was trembling against him. He smirked, for once, someone had silenced his wife without having to outshout her or use magic on her. "Thank you Chekiath, Molly and I hope you take good care of Harry."

Chekiath eyed him for a moment, then his huge head bobbed. _"Harry is my family, we take care of each other."_ Chekiath lifted his head and looked over the pair towards Harry. _"Harry, one of the wings aloft report there is a group of men approaching the school from the forest. They are trying very hard to remain unseen. They bring danger to the school, they mean to cause hurt and fear."_

Harry frowned and he released both girls. He turned to Hermione. "Go tell Albus, tell him I strongly suggest the Ministry O'Hearny return to the Ministry building immediately. Arthur, can you and Molly explain to Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Early, then start moving the children into the school. I'll go speak with Croaker and the auror in charge of the Minister's security detail."

Harry turned and looked towards his dragon. "Do we have time to evacuate the students?"

"_I don't think so. Timath reports they are not far away, but are approaching slowly to keep quiet,"_ replied Chekiath.

"Damn," Harry swore under his breath.

Arthur dragged Molly off towards where Minerva stood. Molly was stunned by the sudden change of events, it astounded her that Harry would start issuing orders and even more shocked when Arthur jumped to obey. Meanwhile two wings of dragons on top of the school faded from view and then lifted skyward on Cheki's orders. Another wing lifted off and glided to the ground in a position where they stood between the forest and the school. They faded from view also.

Elmith bugled loudly and Chekiath turned his head towards the leader of the school guard. Harry listened to Elmith complain that protecting the school was his task. Chekiath told him to take command of the airborne wings and monitor the progress of the men while Chekiath and the rest of the Weyr made sure the children were safe.

Satisfied, Elmith leapt skyward, calling to the others of his original four dragon team. They joined him in the air and followed him to link up with the wings watching the men.

A group of the children still waiting to be ushered into the school cheered and waved when Elmith took to the air with his fellows. To them he was a hero that they could reach out and touch.

Chekiath turned to Harry who grinned at him. _"It was the right decision Cheki,"_ he sent. _"Elmith feels responsible for the school and the children. While he monitors their approach we can ensure the safety of the children."_

Albus walked up to Harry who was talking to several dragons. "Harry?"

He held up a hand holding off the old man for a moment while he listened to Elmith, then he turned to Albus. "Elmith says they are approaching very cautiously, but should be here soon. We don't have the time to evacuate children that have never ridden a dragon or gone Between before. We don't have portkeys and we'll still be evacuating people via floo by the time they arrive."

Albus nodded gravely. "The teachers are taking the children inside the school, if necessary Mrs. Early's magical assistant will activate the full wards locking it down. Alejandro has alerted the ministry and director Shacklebolt is calling in all available aurors, but it will take time for them to floo to the ministry and take a portkey to here. Sir William activated his emergency portkey taking him to a secure office at the Ministry of Defense. Even as we speak, he's spreading the word of the danger but for now we're on our own."

Harry looked around and did a quick count in his head. They had many adult wizards who were not trained for this, and four aurors from the Minister's security detail. Quite a few of the parents had entered the school with their children rather than stay outside. "Wonderful," he said dryly, "all right, Chekiath, lets get all non-magical riders airborne, we don't have enough time to get our bows."

"Harry!" May protested.

"May," he replied turning on her, "you can't fight against wizards when you don't have your bow. At least on Trath you'll have your dragon protecting you."

She nodded reluctantly. "All right, but you be careful Harry Potter, I don't like sitting in a hospital waiting room waiting to hear how badly injured you are."

He smiled and sketched a quick salute. "My lady, I don't think any of us will be in danger, but it is better to not risk it." Satisfied that May would do as he told her, he turned towards Hermione. "Stay with Comaloth, but keep your wand ready.

Hermione nodded and ran back to her dragon. She clambered onto her back and pulled her wand, then the dragon shimmered as it's inherent magic made the pair invisible. Around her, the magical riders all climbed onto their dragons and shimmered out of view.

Harry turned slightly looking to the area where two wings of dragons were hidden, blocking the school from the forest. _"Dragons,"_ he called. A hush fell over the area as the wizards turned in stunned amazement at the power flowing off of Harry. Around him every dragon stopped and turned to look in his direction. _"Campbeltown Weyr stands ready to fulfill our ancient duty. Let our actions today show the world just what we have always stood for. Let no one pass our wings who means harm."_

He could hear the dragons acknowledging his command, and beyond that, an echo of other dragons around the world who made ready should their Weyrleader need their help. The ancient imperative to protect mankind was still strong in Sidraneth's children.

Harry turned towards Momnarth. _"Momnarth, stay near White Beard. If necessary grab him and take him to Campbeltown. With his injury he is no longer as agile as he once was."_ he sent silently.

Momnarth broke from her wing and landed nearby. _"It will be as you order Weyrleader,"_ she replied privately.

Satisfied, Harry walked towards the dragons standing between the school and the forest. He wanted to be nearby if things turned sour.

**The Forbidden Forest...**

Alberto looked around, he had eight men with him, all good solid men that he knew personally. He had brought them in from Spain over the course of the last week. Alberto despite his brutish appearance, was not a stupid individual. He knew that this mission was deadly serious, and getting out after making the hit would be harder than getting in.

All of his men had specially designed portkeys that were made to punch through a quickly erected ward. These were the most expensive kind of portkey available because they took hours to create and even then, they were only useful against the temporary portkey wards used by most law enforcement agencies. Permanent runic wards carved into stone were impossible to break through with any kind of portkey. The ward had to be drained, or the ward stone destroyed before they would work.

Their mission was to hit the deputy Minister of Magic and perhaps his two undersecretaries. One man was a muggle, and the other two were old men who had not participated in a serious fight in many years. He and two others would concentrate on those targets while the remaining five would attempt to sow as much confusion and fear among the parents, press and children that were attending this event.

Alberto paused and listened carefully, they were about two hundred meters away from the school now, when they arrived they were more than kilometer away. He frowned, even from this distance he could tell the sound of the children laughing was diminishing. A rustling sound from overhead increased his frown. Looking up he spotted some crows overhead and relaxed a bit.

"Wait," he hissed. Then he froze in his position and tried to listen as hard as he could.

Around him his disillusioned fellows paused in their slow march towards the school and Alberto listened carefully. Suddenly the silence was broken by children cheering and Alberto relaxed. He knew there may be dragons present today and four of his men were armed with magical devices designed for Nundus that the Spanish Ministry of Magic thought would knock a dragon from the skies if they dared to interfere.

"Go," he said quietly, reassured by the sound of the children. He figured one of the teachers must be talking and the children were being quiet for that. The cheering was probably in response to something a teacher told them.

"Alberto, what about the dragons?" hissed a man nervously to his left.

"We have that covered. We were surprised the last time, this time we won't be surprised," he stated, then he started forward confidently. The last time the school was attacked, it was thought there may be one dragon, instead they confronted four. This time they were ready, his men were armed with four strangler globes that were designed to bring down a full sized Nundu and suffocate it. It was thought that a dragon wouldn't stand a chance against a strangler globe. If there were still dragons guarding the school still, they would be prepared for them.

**Hogsmeade School for 'Gifted Children'...**

"_Harry, the men are nearly here,"_ Chekiath called in warning. Harry nodded and took a quick look around. Albus and Alejandro were busy creating an illusion that made it look like there were many more people in the field than there were. Albus was even making sure a number of the illusionary people were children.

Hermione was with the wizards of her wing, sitting on the ground for now and waiting for a signal to go airborne. Overhead flew the non-magical riders, ready to attack with dragon fire.

Suddenly one of the carriages owned by Hogwarts exploded and several men burst from the tree line. Harry ducked and fired off a stunner with his Jordan wand that threw a man back into the trees. "Now Cheki!" he shouted, then he turned and sprinted back, towards the school. He deftly slipped between the dragons who had been waiting patiently. Once through their line he turned and ran for his dragon.

"_Now!"_ called Chekiath. The two wings of dragons sitting on the ground reared up and became visible, then they extended their wings, blocking access to the school. Overhead Elmith and his dragons screamed and bathed the tree line in fire, blocking the retreat for the men in the open.

There was now a solid line of forty dragons between the attackers and the school!

Harry climbed up on his spot and Chekiath launched skywards in a tremendous leap. Harry watched as these men handled the surprise a lot better than he thought they would. They quickly conjured cover for themselves and set about firing spells at the dragons and any human who offered themselves as a target.

A man popped up from behind a conjured boulder and leveled a strange tube-like device to this shoulder. With a wet pop a large gelatinous ball fired from the device, then the man dropped back behind his boulder.

The ball impacted a dragon in the center of the line blocking the men from the school. Within seconds the substance seemed to flow around the dragon, covering every square inch. The dragon bellowed in fear just before his head was sealed into that strange substance. The dragon reared back in panic as the substance covered him from head to tail. As soon as the covering was complete, it started to contract.

Harry blinked in shock as the dragon collapsed to the ground writhing in agony. From Harry's position it looked like the dragon was fully engulfed in a soap bubble, but this was no ordinary soap bubble, even in the air Harry could hear the wing bones snapping.

"Cheki!"

Instantly his dragon changed direction and dove for the injured dragon. As they dove a second man fired his weapon and the large liquid ball sailed by, just missing Chekiath. It would be later found on the other side of the Pee Wee Quidditch pitch, having crushed one of the spectator stands.

Cheki had barely landed when Harry slid to the ground and ran to the stricken dragon. Lornth lay on the ground quivering, unable to move and unable to breathe. And what was worse was Harry was exposed to the attackers. Harry ducked a spell sent his way and Elmith bellowed from above and his group of dragons swept in to attack with claw and tooth. The Weyrleader was in danger!

A third Nundu weapon failed to fire and the men started hurling lethal curses. The attackers tried to fall back, but the fire in the forest was too intense and it blocked their escape.

Alberto realized the attack had failed. Already two of his men activated their portkeys, he could hear the whistling sound they created as they made ready to punch through any wards.

The dragons that had been had been in line with Lornth rushed to join their fellows and Alberto activated his portkey just as a dragon plucked him from the ground. Alberto screamed in agony, he could feel his ribs snapping and he futilely beat at the dragon paw with his fists. Then the portkey activated, taking him and the dragon along with him.

Unlike Hermione's trip via portkey which had only been across Campbeltown, this trip was much longer. Hermione had dangerously exhausted himself traveling just over a mile, Alberto and four others would not survive the drain of powering themselves and a dragon via portkey to continental Europe.

Harry never noticed the cessation of fighting as he struggled with the gooey substance covering Lornth. Finally he threw all of his power into his attempt to tear a hole in the substance. His hands glowed blindingly white, and he reached down, into the substance coating the dragon and pulled with all of his physical and all of his magical strength. It parted with a heavy plop, opening a space only a few feet wide, but wide enough for him to grab onto and tug at. "Help me!" he shouted as he tore at the tough covering. Suddenly more hands appeared and the hole opened more. Several attacked it with hand knives, sawing desperately. Every rider present could hear the dragon screaming in their minds.

Harry collapsed to one side panting heavily and Chekiath stepped up. With one huge paw he carefully slid his claws under the coating and ripped a huge hole open that extended up Lornth's neck. It was enough to allow the dragon to ease his head out of the globe and take a huge gasping breath. Then the dragon moaned in pain.

The dragon would have survived without breathing for up to thirty minutes, but no one wanted to take that chance, besides no one knew how long the material would continue to contract.

"Stop!" shouted Ronan. "We have Lornth breathing, now we can work this properly. Everyone grab hold near his rear legs, let's free his torso, then we'll work on the wings."

"_Lornth stay!"_ commanded Chekiath. Harry's dragon seemed torn, he wanted to go help pull that stuff from Lornth, but he didn't want to leave Harry who had seriously exhausted himself breaking into the strangler globe.

Hagrid appeared overhead, loaded with medical supplies. He had been away at another Weyr tending a very ill dragon when he heard Chekiath's call. His strength and sword sized knife made quick work removing the remaining globe material. Lornth lay moaning piteously on the ground, his wings were badly broken.

Harry felt a pair of arms gently grip him and pull him up to a sitting position. "That was hard," he panted. He felt like he had spent a full day running the runway of Campbeltown, pulling a wagon – with Chekiath on it.

"That was bloody near impossible my young friend. You used most of your magic to open a hole in a strangler globe that was supposed to be used to subdue a Nundu. I had heard that some people were experimenting with them, but I have never seen one before," Albus said with a gentle smile. "It had to be strong enough to withstand a full grown Nundu. You must rest, you drained yourself dry punching a hole in the globe."

Harry shook his head. "Lornth?" he asked, brushing aside Albus' comments.

"Rest Harry, Hagrid and May are tending to him. He's hurt, badly to be sure, but alive, thanks to your efforts. I'll leave you in Hermione's capable hands, I must talk to Alejandro," Albus replied.

Harry gripped Albus' hand briefly in silent thanks, then Hermione stepped closer and knelt next to him. She pulled him closer and he leaned against her, still breathing deeply. Albus stood and looked around for Alejandro. As he did, more aurors started arriving to help.

Alejandro was swearing sulfurously, he had three dead men, burned almost beyond any ability to identify, one more dead because a dragon landed on top of him while attacking his mate. Four other attackers were missing, and one stunned and badly injured man who might never regain consciousness given the severity of his head wound. Harry's stunner had thrown the man back through the tree line, right into a tree. They found a forth strangler globe weapon at the base of that tree, he had never gotten the chance to fire it.

"_White Beard, Elmith reports that he and three other dragons are someplace else, and the men they were holding are dead,"_ Chekiath suddenly announced.

Hermione looked up from where she knelt next to Harry. "A portkey?" she asked.

Chekiath turned to look at her. _"Elmith says the world is spinning crazily and he can barely stand,"_ Chekiath replied.

She glanced at Harry. "It must be a portkey then. Comaloth had the same complaint."

Harry nodded wearily.

Albus looked over to where Hermione was. "What's this?"

Hermione looked at him and grimaced. "Not too long ago we discovered that a dragon cannot power a portkey. But if a dragon is in contact with a wizard when the portkey goes off the dragon will be transported along with the wizard. The problem is that the wizard is exhausted because of the mass of the dragon. I nearly drained my core dry going barely a mile, if they went any significant distance, it would have drained them entirely."

"Killing them in the process," murmured Albus in shock.

Hermione nodded. "Harry was very angry at me for experimenting with that portkey. But Comaloth had the same complaint afterward, extreme dizziness."

Harry squeezed her hand letting her know they were past that point. "Are Elmith and the others in danger?" Harry mumbled.

"_No I don't think so Harry,"_ replied Chekiath.

"Send a wing to guard them, and when they recover have them return here with the bodies of the men."

"_Yes Harry."_

Harry straightened and Hermione let go of him. He struggled to his feet and looked around. He was dreadfully tired, but there was too much to do for him to rest now. He'd rest later, first he had a Weyr and a badly injured dragon to see to.

With the danger apparently past, the doors to the school opened and the children, parents and staff filed out. Many had watched the fight from the windows and now were silently watching May and Hagrid struggle to help a badly injured dragon.

A wing of dragons lifted off and vanished from sight at Chekiath's order, then the large dragon moved closer to Harry and extended his long neck, bringing his head nearly nose to nose with Harry. _"You're very tired,"_ Chekiath observed.

Harry chuckled and reached out to caress along Cheki's jaw line. "You don't have to tell me mate, I know how tired I am. But first we need to bring back our dragons and see to Lornth."

Hermione stepped closer to the pair. "I'll watch him Cheki, but I also intend to have him fly with me back to the Weyr. I'm not going to risk you both with him too tired to give good jump imagery."

Chekiath turned slightly and eyed Hermione for a moment, his eyes twirling with amusement, then he turned back to Harry who was trying to work up the energy to protest. _"Comaloth says that I might be the Weyrleader's dragon, but there will still be times when the females can order us around. I don't understand it, but Comaloth says it is the way of things."_

Harry opened his mouth, then he yawned. "Fine," he agreed. He was too tired to care, instead he turned and watched Hagrid and May working on Lornth.

"_Lornth, I know you're in pain, but your Weyr will do everything possible to help you get better,"_ he sent to the dragon.

Lornth turned his head to look at him and Chekiath crooned softly at the injured dragon. _"Thank you Weyrleader. The Weyrling master has already given me something for the pain."_

Lornth lifted his head a little higher, his eyes were heavily mixed with streaks of yellow and black signaling his intense anxiety. _"What use will I be if I cannot fly again Weyrleader?"_

Harry sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Your Weyr needs you Lornth. Give your healers a chance to help you my friend. You may be surprised with the results. Have faith in them Lornth, I do."

"_Yes Weyrleader I will try."_

Hermione conjured a large tree stump and they both sat on it while they watched May and Hagrid struggle with the large dragon. From the look of things they had decided to bring in the harness so that Lornth could be moved onto that, then returned to the Weyr. May and Hagrid were carefully trying to fold Lornth's wings enough for him to fit in the sling and not cause any additional damage.

After nearly twenty minutes they had everything arranged properly and four dragons gently eased Lornth into the air and vanished. Harry stood and was shocked to see the children watching in silence. It was obvious that a number of the children were very upset that a dragon had been hurt. They had seen the short fight from the windows of their school, there had been no time to protect them from witnessing the violence.

Mrs. Early stepped forward. "Weyrleader, will... will your dragon be all right?"

He smiled, trying to reassure even when he was very worried about Lornth. "Our Weyrhealers are the best. They will do everything they can for Lornth."

Mrs. Early nodded, it wasn't exactly good news, but it wasn't dire news either. "Weyrleader, once again your dragons have..."

She trailed off into silence when Harry held up a hand. "Mrs. Early, no thanks are really necessary. The dragons have a saying, 'May you find peace and shelter under our wings'. That expresses our primary goal, the dragon riders and their dragons will always stand up for what is right, and protect those who can't protect themselves. The Weyr did what we've pledged to do, protect people. It is what we were meant to do."

Around the school hundreds of dragons thrummed with approval and every rider stood just a little bit taller.

Mrs. Early swallowed nervously and she nodded. "Nonetheless Weyrleader, your dragons protected the children and our school from attack again. On behalf of the students and their parents, I offer our deepest thanks."

Harry bowed slightly and Albus walked over to him. "Harry, the Minister would like to speak with you."

Harry nodded and turned back to Mrs. Early. "Mrs. Early, as a precaution I'll ask Elmith and his team to maintain a watch over the school until we're sure it's safe. I know that school is out, but I do recall hearing something about some summer classes?"

Mrs. Early smiled in relief, the dragons had been pulled when school officially ended. Now she was relieved to hear they would be protecting the school through the summer as well. "Yes, some of our students will be receiving summer tutoring and we do have a full evening class of adults wanting to know more about the muggle world."

Harry nodded. "I'll see to it," he said, then he turned to Albus and motioned for him to show him the way.

Deputy Minister O'Hearny had returned to the school once the fighting was over, he brought with him a much larger auror force who quickly secured the area. Albus walked up to where he now stood with Director Shacklebolt. O'Hearny spotted Albus, then he saw Harry and Hermione close behind him and his face broke into a huge grin.

"Weyrleader," O'Hearny said with a broad smile. "it seems that Britain owes yet another debt to you and your dragons."

Harry shook his head. "No minister, there is no debt. I prefer to think that between friends, we can work together for the benefit of us both. You know our history, this is what we were meant to do. It is why dragons were created."

O'Hearny nodded. He knew the full and true history of dragons and he realized that Harry was merely ensuring that the Weyrs continued the tradition of protecting mankind. "That might be true Weyrleader, but tonight I will be telling my cousin, the queen, of what happened here today. I cannot speak for Her Majesty's government, but please feel free to ask for any assistance you might need to help nurse your dragon back to health."

O'Hearny glanced around then he sighed. "I daresay today's activities will have to be scheduled for another time. The aurors are going to want to question any witnesses and there is still quite a mess to clean up," he said.

Harry glanced in the direction O'Hearny was looking and he sighed. His dragons had created a small, but significant fire in the forest and most of the auror force were busy trying to extinguish it. They were fortunate that the kind of fire that made hot rocks wasn't the usual fire the dragons produced. Like their ability to hide, permanent fire had to be consciously invoked.

O'Hearny turned away from the fire, he was certain that it would be put out as more wizards were arriving from the town to assist the aurors. "Director, do you need to question the dragon riders now?"

"No sir, I can send a team to the Weyr later, or tomorrow to take their statements," Shacklebolt replied.

"Four of my dragons were portkeyed away from the school when they grabbed one of the attackers. Unfortunately the trip drained the attacker to the point of death, but I've ordered the dragons to return here with those bodies as soon as they recover from the vertigo induced by the portkey. Hopefully they will return here within an hour. Comaloth took less time to recover from her portkey trip, but she went a shorter distance."

Kingsley looked startled, then he nodded in disappointment. He had hoped that the dragons might have captured one alive.

Harry turned away from Kingsley. "Cheki, let's get them in the air and go home," he said, then he shivered.

Hermione looked at him in alarm. "Harry?"

He looked down. "I'm sorry, I just realized how close we really came to losing you and Comaloth. If you had traveled any real distance..."

She gave his arm a squeeze, then climbed up to her position on Comaloth. Harry smiled to himself watching her. She still didn't like heights and it showed in how she mounted and dismounted her dragon. She looked down at him and he sighed, then he climbed up behind her. There was a bed in Campbeltown with his name on it and he desperately wanted to crawl into it.

**North Fambridge, Essex, England, June 20th...**

Anna flipped off the Wizarding Wireless and turned to look at Carlos who was shaking his head. "Nothing," he muttered. "They didn't report on any attack at all."

"It should be obvious, the attack failed," Anna said in annoyance. Alberto struck her as pure muscle without a brain to his name. The decision to attack the school again was a bad one she felt, there had been other places to hit the Minister, but Carlos and Alberto thought the school would provide the best amount of terror and notoriety for their little group.

Obviously someone had made an error and in all likelihood the entire group of men had been captured she was certain of that now.

"You can't know that," Carlos snapped.

"Oh please, I know my own countrymen very well. An attack would have created a furor in the press. That there is no news suggests the government is suppressing the report, probably while they interrogate their prisoners. Had the attack succeeded the Ministry would have been too busy trying to help people to stifle the press. The fact there is total silence does not bode well for your plan. Alberto should have scouted the area and if necessary, called it off," Anna replied scathingly.

Anna looked around and frowned heavily, her family home was now in danger and so was she. She stood and walked over to a cabinet, then fished a heavy iron key from a pocket.

"What are you doing?" demanded Carlos.

She turned and arched an eyebrow at the wand pointing at her. "If you must know, I'm preparing to preserve my family home. Alberto knows of this place Carlos, we must flee before it's too late. Even if he doesn't know where we are, they will be looking for us soon."

Carlos blinked and one hand slid into a pocket that held an emergency portkey. _Alberto has never failed me,_ he thought, _but if he has Anna is right, we must leave before someone can pry the information out of Alberto. If he escapes Alberto is smart enough to know to meet up with me at the Madrid safe house. _

Carlos sighed and then he nodded in resignation. "You are right, if the attack failed, then we must move swiftly. I will return to Spain for a while, then reconsider my options. Do you wish to come along?"

Anna shook her head. "Carlos, Carlos, you should know better than ask that. I'm a prostitute, you can dress me up and present me to the finest nobility, but the truth will still emerge about my past. And then where will you be. You may be an assassin, but still you mix with important people, they fear you and you use that against them. They have no weapon against you, but I would provide them with that weapon."

Carlos nodded, what Anna said was true. "So what will you do?"

Anna shrugged. "I think it's best if we part without knowing the plans of the other, but don't worry about me. I can easily slip into the muggle world for a bit before coming back."

Her family often crossed into the muggle world to commit a crime, then returned to the magical one to hide. Now she'd just reverse the process.

Carlos smiled grimly. "Very well, I shall pack my belongings and then use my portkey. I should be gone within the hour."

Anna waved a hand at him, then she turned back to the book that controlled the wards around her home and she started activating some of the more dangerous ones. Three hundred years of living here had provided ample time to ward the property beyond what was considered normal.

Twenty minutes later, she entered her room and started packing what she considered her essentials.

"Anna?"

She looked up towards the door where Carlos stood. She had spent the last months as Carlos' bed partner, but she quickly discovered he didn't want anyone sleeping with him on a regular basis. For this reason she had her own room even here.

"Yes?"

"I am ready to leave. I will walk about a kilometer from the house, that should get me out from under your wards," he said, then he appeared to hesitate before placing a card on the dresser by the door. "That card contains a phone number of someone that can always get in contact with me. If you find yourself needing help. Contact me."

Anna smiled at him. _So the tough guy has a heart after all,_ she mused. "Thank you Carlos."

He started to turn away and she called out to him. "Carlos, take... take care of yourself. We may yet meet again."

He nodded and walked out of her sight. She walked over to the dresser and picked up the card, fingering it and examining the fine embossed lettering. It contained a single name and a Madrid address and phone number. A soft ping signaled someone leaving the house and she shook from her melancholy, she slipped the card into a pocket and went back to packing.

Pressing a hand against one wall a panel opened and she reached in to pull out a sack containing a large number of bank notes and ancient gold coins which she knew had value in the muggle world. She wouldn't be penniless while she hid.

When she was done she picked up her small bag and slung it over her shoulder. She'd be back, she was well trained and would hide among the muggles for a year or two before starting over again on Knockturn Alley. She knew her way around the muggles and had some business contacts she could use there. She would be safe.

**Dumbledore's quarters, Campbeltown Weyr, June 22nd...**

Albus walked wearily into his quarters after another very hectic day at the Ministry. Despite the news blackout, word of the attack had finally leaked out and the ministry had been under siege by wizards wanting to be reassured that this wasn't a renewal of violence.

It wasn't until today, three days after the attack, that the ministry could hold a press conference over the matter. Part of the delay had been due to Harry. He had returned to the Weyr after the attack and slept for twenty six hours straight. Hermione became so worried she had Madam Pomfrey check him out, but he was just sleeping while he recharged. Poppy explained that while Hermione had drained her core and slept for several hours after the portkey accident, Harry's core was a full order of magnitude bigger and took longer to refill.

Needless to say the whole Weyr breathed a sigh of relief that Harry was going to be fine. And no one seemed to care if Hermione spent more time in their quarters watching over Harry than attending to her duties. May wanted to be there, but Lornth was badly injured and she was the person who came up with a way of healing him. As a result of that she set Trath to keep a close eye on Harry and frequently spoke to her about him, or called Hermione using the Weyr phone system.

Lornth had been moved back to the Weyr and made as comfortable as possible. A memory of a visit to a hospitalized cousin and a call to her father gave her the solution she needed.

Momnarth was sent to Arran to pick up Mike McNulty and after several hours of discussion with May, they had a plan. Lord Mills and several riders were sent out armed with a shopping list to scour the surgical supply houses and building supply houses in the area.

Then May spent most of the first day bracing his wings using surgical stainless steel rods and clamps and pulleys. The arrangement resembled a super sized version of something she had once seen a cousin use when he broke his leg skiing and it took the help of her father to assemble the unique framework.

With Hagrid assisting, May carefully sliced small slits in Lornth's wingsails to allow a clamp to be attached, then she bolted them to an external steel rod running the length of each broken bone. Extra care was taken to ensure that the broken spots were aligned as best as possible. Even with Hagrid's help and the help of two others, it had taken twelve grueling hours to align and bind two badly broken wings.

Once installed they brought in a portable x-ray machine and took nearly forty x-rays of each wing.

Opinion was divided over whether Lornth would fly again, but both Hagrid and May pointed out that there were no broken wing joints, so they believed he would. After the operation, Hagrid scooped up an exhausted May and carried her to Harry's quarters, he blushed heavily when Hermione had her placed in the bed next to Harry.

Albus lay down in his bed and picked up a book for a little light reading. "Today was a busy one my friend. Let us hope we do not have many more like it," he said to Fawkes, "And it should come as no surprise that Harry did very well again."

Fawkes trilled smugly. He always knew Harry would do well. He saw the scene in his companion's mind, and enjoyed watching it replay for him.

"_Weyrleader, do you think it was necessary to kill the attacking wizards?" shouted a reporter for an English language paper published on the continent._

_Harry glanced at the Minister O'Hearny who nodded to him, then he stepped up to the podium. "At the time no one went into that fight intent on killing. My dragons are pledged to protect mankind, but they responded to the fact that lethal force was being used to attack unarmed and defenseless children. And one of their own was already cruelly injured; his life was in danger. If you ask me if I'm sorry that those men are dead I will reply that I am sorry that they gave us no choice but to kill them. Finally I believe that the parents of the students are grateful that we were able to protect their children."_

_Harry looked at the man directly and he nodded uneasily. Harry wasn't backing down and laid the fault of the deaths at the feet of the attackers._

"_What about those that escaped? Why did they die?" shouted another reporter._

_Albus stood up and walked over to stand next to Harry. "In each case the wizard was being held by a dragon when they activated a portkey. It is not commonly known, but a wizard's own magic is used to power the portkey enchantment. Many of you have carried your younger children while using a portkey and since they are so small, you do not feel the extra drain on your magic. Around the age of five to six your child's core matures enough to start helping you power the portkey. So you never notice the extra magic they provide._

"_In this case the wizards were being held by the dragons. The portkey needed massive amounts of power in order to move the wizard, and the attached dragon. Since dragons cannot power a portkey the enchantment drained those wizards until they died of core collapse. Truly no blame can be assigned to the dragons, they were trying to stop criminals from escaping and the criminals own escape method led to their deaths."_

"_Weyrleader, one more question if I may, but why did the dragons get involved in the first place?" asked Xenophilius Lovegood._

_Harry smiled at the man. "The dragons are pledged to protect mankind. It is our primary duty. We were there that day to mark an occasion when dragons protected the children of the school and we were fortunate to be able to help again. The dragon riders will always protect mankind, it is what we were meant to do."_

_With that Harry stepped away from the podium and took his seat again, ignoring the buzz created in the room by his words._

Fawkes trilled again. He knew if Harry hadn't bonded with a dragon, he would have been eagerly sought after by one of the other phoenixes. Now that he had bonded to his dragon he couldn't bond to a phoenix, but they would always watch him with great interest.

"It's funny old friend, Harry works diligently to reinvent himself into something other than a wizard, and yet, in a way I think he's making himself even more important to the wizarding world than he imagines. A great many parents were present today that wanted to thank him and his dragons for saving their children."

Albus smiled when Fawkes trilled again then he opened the book and started to read. The last few days had been very hectic for the old man and the ministry. Now it was time to take a breath and relax but Albus truly felt worn down because of this incident.

The hours passed slowly, then he heard a voice he had not heard in many years. "Albus."

"Albus."

He looked up from his book and squinted, there was a blinding flash of light like from a flash gun and he felt a momentary stab of pain in the back of his head. The bedroom door swung open and filled with blindingly bright light. In that light stood a female figure, but he couldn't make out any detail.

"Yes? Who are you? How did you get in here?"

She stepped from the light into the room proper and smiled gently at him.

"Ariana?" he whispered in shock. She was as beautiful as he remembered her to be.

"Dear Albus, it was not right to torment yourself over the manner of my passing. It was my time and my passing freed me from the physical suffering I endured. You mourned and fought with Aberforth over imagined slights and it was all so unnecessary. That sad misunderstanding has colored your entire life, and its only been in the past year that you've worked to correct many of your mistakes. You have lived your life in balance until this very last year. But what a year it has been dear heart, you have more than earned your reward." she replied.

He sighed and closed his book, placing it on the bed beside him. "It is time then? I had hoped I would have had more. There is still so much to do."

Fawkes trilled mournfully from his perch and Ariana laughed softly. "Fawkes you know this is the way of mortals. Albus has earned his place and a great many old friends are eager to see him again. Be at peace dear heart for this is not an end, but a new beginning."

Fawkes trilled again and settled down. He knew that this was more than just the shade of Dumbledore's long dead sister.

"Come now Albus, it's time," she said, smiling gently.

Ariana held out a hand and Albus reached, then he hesitated. "But what about Harry? He still needs me." he asked in alarm. He didn't want to leave Harry like this! Not now when so many things were still in flux!

Ariana smiled. "Harry is stronger than even you suspect Albus, his mates will help him weather this. And he will help them. You have no need to be afraid for him. The Gods are very pleased with Harry Potter and what you have taught him. Now come beloved, there are many waiting for you."

Albus nodded and took her hand. Albus glanced over at Fawkes and smiled. "So here we must part ways old friend. Live well Fawkes and keep an eye on things for me please? Perhaps someday we'll meet again."

Fawkes trilled sadly at his companion. He couldn't bond with any of the riders so staying here would only increase his pain, he would return home, where he could heal like so many other phoenixes that lose their companion. The other phoenixes would watch and safeguard the light like they have been doing since the dawn of time.

The book seemed to slowly slip from Albus' fingers and his eyes closed as the massive stroke hit him. His chest rose and fell in longer and longer intervals until it rose no more. Fawkes watched for a moment longer and then he dipped his head and cried.

Albus and Ariana walked back through the doorway into that blinding light and the door softly closed behind them.

Overhead, the watch dragon on patrol immediately broke from his route to land on the roof of Dumbledore's quarters and started to keen despite his rider's assurances. A wave of sadness swept through the Weyr as the dragons awoke to mourn the loss of a good friend.

The riders and non-riders alike were shaken from their beds as the dragons mourned. The sound of the dragons keening was heard as far away as the town of Campbeltown and gave rise to the rumor of ghosts haunting the surrounding countryside.

**Very early morning in the Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, June 23rd...**

The Weyr assembled slowly in the Kitchen hall, no one had said anything, it was just that people felt a need to be around others rather than stay in their homes. Dumbledore's death had come as a great blow to the Weyr who truly loved the old man. They had worked so hard to make him safe!

Everyone sat quietly with the silence broken only by the occasional sniffle.

Harry sat with Hermione and May, he stared at the table while both girls leaned against him, sniffling a little. Dobby carefully placed mugs of hot chocolate in front of each. "Harry Potter sir should drink. Master Albus wouldn't want you to be sad."

Most of the riders and non-riders were in the hall just waiting for Issac and Madam Pomfrey to arrive.

Harry had awoken at the first cry from Chekiath, in a flash he was up and out of the bed, waking both girls in the process. He ran from his quarters, wearing little more than a robe and his boxers while Sirius scrambled up onto Norendrath in a bid to get Madam Pomfrey.

He skidded to a halt in the open doorway of Albus' little cottage, the door bashed in by a dragon so that Issac could enter. Mutely he watched Issac frantically try CPR on the old wizard. The image of Doctor Sheppard working frantically on Albus while Fawkes wept would be forever burned into his brain.

He was still standing there when Sirius returned with Poppy. She glanced meaningfully at Sirius and he nodded, then he gently steered Harry away from the cottage while Poppy hurried past him.

That was a little over an hour ago.

Harry looked up and smiled weakly at Dobby, then he reached for a cup. "No he wouldn't." He looked around and wasn't surprised to see the entire Weyr sitting in the hall despite the extreme hour. It was barely four in the morning when the riders were awakened by the dragons keening in distress. They marked the passing of Albus like they would of another dragon. The non-riders might not understand, but the riders and dragons did. He was theirs and now he was gone.

Issac Sheppard and Poppy Pomfrey stepped into the room and walked over to Harry, speaking to him briefly. Poppy handed him several envelopes which he stuffed in a pocket, then he nodded to the pair and stood. Poppy grabbed Harry in a brief hug and he smiled weakly at her before turning to walk to the front of the room as he did, the noise in the room dropped to nothing.

"The Weyr," he said, then he choked for a moment and took a shuddering breath. "The Weyr has lost a good friend and Britain has lost a great man. Albus Dumbledore passed away shortly after two this morning. Madam Pomfrey tells me that it was his wish to be buried in the Dumbledore family plot. She will be taking his body from here to Hogwarts and from there on to Godric's Hallow where he will be laid to rest with his family the day after tomorrow. She has already sent messages to the Ministry of Magic and I know Major Atkins is contacting the British Ministry.

"A service will be held graveside which we will attend. I did not always agree with Albus Dumbledore, but I know that since I impressed Chekiath, he has worked ceaselessly for the Weyr and for his country. We will honor our friend when he's laid to rest."

Harry turned slightly towards Ronan who was now officially the Weyr's second in command. "Ronan, starting this morning, we'll fly our flag at half mast for thirty days. Also contact Condron and Maziang and request they send a wing or two to the service. Albus worked for all dragons everywhere, its only fitting that all dragons are represented. I intend to enter Albus Dumbledore in our record as a member of our Weyr like any other rider."

Ronan nodded and Harry glanced at the clock. "It's after four, go back to sleep if you can. The next few days are going to be difficult I'm sure," Harry said, then he walked over towards the door to wait for May and Hermione.

The three walked back to their quarters in an uneasy silence. "I can't believe he's gone," May said finally. "I didn't have the same level of interaction with him as you two, but he helped me learn the basics of potion brewing and he always had such wonderful stories to tell me."

Harry reached out and placed an arm around her shoulder then he snagged Hermione with his other arm. "For all of his faults and flaws, he still tried to do what he thought was best. I suppose in the long run that is all any of us can do."

"I will always have fond memories of him," Hermione added, then she glanced sideways at Harry. "But you won't, will you?"

Harry paused mid-stride and both girls turned to look at him. "Albus was a good friend to us and I will try to always remember what he did for me and for us after I impressed Cheki. After I impressed, he changed, became less sure of himself and more open to the opinions of others. Albus made mistakes and he tried hard to fix them," He sighed and he looked saddened by the sudden turn of events. "May you probably won't understand, but I know Hermione will when I say I don't think I have it in me to hate a dead man. I'm not like Snape."

May looked at Hermione quizzically. "Professor Snape was our potions professor at Hogwarts. He also held a grudge against Harry's father for something that happened when they were in school together. When Harry started Hogwarts, Professor Snape took out his animosity for Harry's father on Harry."

"That's not right!" protested May. "Harry's father is dead!"

Harry smiled. "Of course it isn't. But like I said, I am not Snape. Albus Dumbledore worked diligently to correct what he perceived as his failings. I think its an admirable quality. Hating him for the other things he did serves no purpose. I think if I can learn to recognize my own failings and work to correct them then Albus would have taught me a very valuable lesson."

He reached out and took their hands. "Tomorrow will be here soon enough, tonight I think I would like nothing more than to curl up with my ladies. Having you both cuddling against me in bed always lightens my mood. I feel like I have lost a family member."

Hermione tugged on his hand and he started walking again. "It lightens our mood too, and tonight I really need that," she said.

Harry smiled sadly and they continued their walk towards their quarters.

**Godric's Hallow, June 25th...**

Harry watched stoically as Dumbledore's coffin was levitated into the marble cairn, then several wizards levitated the lid over it, closing it.

Six wings of manned dragons lowered their heads in respect and a mental command from Harry had all of the riders removing their berets.

Eddie Took walked forward until she was in front of the cairn and she placed a hand against the cold marble for a brief moment and whispered a farewell to a lifelong friend, then she turned and faced the crowd. Minerva stood not far away, somewhat surprised by her reaction to the events of the morning.

Albus had arranged for Eddie to give the eulogy service and have left a personal letter to Minerva asking her to find room in her heart to make peace with her little sister. Poppy had found the letters on his night table and realized that she hadn't done as good of a job hiding her concerns for his health as she thought she had. Per his instructions she gave Minerva's letter to Harry to deliver.

When Eddie arrived this morning via dragon back, Minerva watched in shock as Harry assisted her down from Chekiath. Harry then took Eddie by the hand and brought her over to Minerva. Minerva knew that Harry had met her sister, but she wasn't aware that she would be attending this service, let alone officiating it.

"_Family," Harry said flatly. "Life is too fleeting and once they are gone from your life, all you have is regrets about what was said and what wasn't. Albus asked for your sister, and he left me this letter to give to you Professor. I think that Albus might have suspected something like this would happen. We found a small pile of letters on the table in his quarters."_

_Harry handed Minerva the letter and she took it with a trembling hand. "I would kill to have a sister Professor," Harry said softly, "Or a brother. I'm sure we'd fight, but I can't imagine a fight that lasts for years... Minerva, I don't know what this fight was about and I'm sure I don't want to know. But take it from someone that knows, being alone hurts. You have a chance to change that."_

_Harry stepped back, then he gave Eddie a deep bow. She had been to the Weyr several times since her first visit and had given Harry a book that defined her beliefs as a Druid. He wasn't of her faith, but she also knew he had no personal faith, and that made him fair game in her book._

"_Goddess blessings to you and your dragon. I thank you both for bringing us here safely," she said softly._

"_You're welcome," Chekiath replied for them both. _

_Eddie's eyes widened slightly and Harry smiled at her, then he went to be with his girls. Eddie watched him for a moment longer than she turned her attention back to Minerva who was trying to read the note through tear filled eyes._

_It was only a short note, expressing his deepest admiration for her and a personal request that she make peace with her sister. Minerva sniffled and she carefully folded the note and placed it in a pocket. She looked at Eddie who was offering her a handkerchief. Minerva took the handkerchief and wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry Eddie, I guess..."_

_She trailed off as Eddie stepped closer and wrapped her arms around her sister. "Later we'll have time to speak of this and other things. But there is blame enough for both of us. I would think that instead of chewing over old, bad, memories, lets talk about the two nieces you never met, or your two grand nieces and grand nephew who want to meet you very much."_

_Minerva tightened her grip on her sister and wept softly. She was appalled at what she had missed out on due mostly to her own stubborn pride._

Eddie sighed and looked at the cold stone cairn containing her friend. She said a silent prayer for the spirit of her friend and considered the impact his death had on others. A 'wee bit' of good had emerged from what was a tragic day. She had wanted to make peace with her older sister for years, she just wished that it hadn't taken the death of a dear friend to make that happen.

Eddie turned to face the large crowd of people. Mostly they were magical folk, but off to one side stood the Dragon Riders in a shocking display of numbers. Campbeltown had five manned wings now, all of whom were present, and there was a wing from Condron and Maziang as well. Nearly one hundred and fifty in all, dressed in their formal dress uniforms. Behind them were row after row of dragons and there still wasn't enough room for every dragon present. The skies overhead were full of dragons in their classic V-formation staying just below the clouds.

Next to the Weyrleaders stood Chekiath and Spath along with Lobsang's Jekrith and Menth and Lokith from Condron Weyr.

Not far from the Weyrleaders stood a small contingent of important muggles, including the Prime Minister and his highness Charles, the Prince of Wales.

Off to one side sat a WWN commentator, quietly broadcasting the service to the rest of magical Britain.

The day was overcast and gray as if all the color had been sucked from the world. It aptly reflected the mood of the crowd. Albus Dumbledore had been a fixture of British Society for over a century and that society was shocked and saddened at his loss.

Eddie smiled then pulled out her wand and cast a quick sonorus on herself. "My friends, we're gathered here today to celebrate the life of Albus Dumbledore and to bid farewell to a dear friend. And what a life our dear friend had! To some of us, he was a friend, to others he was a figure to admire, and to still others he was a mentor. Not a single witch or wizard that grew up in Britain can honestly say their lives weren't touched by Albus Dumbledore in some manner. In whatever role he played in your life, the simple fact remains that for the past one hundred years, Albus Dumbledore played a key role in all of our lives.

"For much of his life, Albus Dumbledore was a man of peace who worked very hard on things that most of us know little about. It seems sad to me to know that my friend is so well known for defeating Grindelwald, and yet he was responsible for the laws that made it illegal to hunt Centaurs and Giants in this country. If Albus Dumbledore had a true legacy to leave us, then it was a legacy of peace and acceptance. He championed unpopular causes and tried to teach us the value of tolerance.

"Albus wasn't afraid of tackling tough issues even when most of society didn't care about those issues. He authored the Intelligent Species Protection act that was approved by the ICW and here at home he championed the rights of the muggle born and squibs.

"And in his final days he helped ease our world through the dragon crisis and out the other side where we're stronger and better able to deal with the changes. He helped open our eyes to a bigger world than just our little corner of it.

"Every religion says we go onto a better place when we die. That means that heaven will be greatly blessed by his arrival, even if our world is made poorer by his passing. So then instead of mourning the passing of a friend and great man, let us celebrate his life and pray that he will be hard at work making even that place better."

She paused and smiled gently at the mob of somber people. "Having Albus personally involved in your life was a unique experience. I know that to me his influence in my life seems like a personal blessing from the Goddess herself. Goddess' blessing Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. God speed and safe journey my friend we will miss you but your lessons will be etched in our hearts for the rest of our lives."

Eddie turned and started to chant in Gaelic, as she did, the cairn started to glow at the base. The glow then started to move up the sides of the stones.

"What's happening?" whispered May.

"She's sealing the tomb. By the time the glow covers the top stone it would take dynamite to open it again," Hermione replied, then she sniffed a few times.

"But how, she's not using a wand!" May said softly.

Hermione looked troubled and Harry answered for her. "According to the book that Eddie loaned me what you are seeing is the power of her faith, her personal deity, working through her. She is bound to Ernmass the loving mother, the giver of life. Her relationship with her patron goddess allows for Ernmass to act through her. More modern wizards claim it's just wandless magic but if you ask Eddie she'll tell you she's incapable of wandless magic."

May looked over at the sight again with an expression of awe. "That's her god doing that then?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe," he admitted carefully, there was a lot more involved including Eddie's claim that even muggles can invoke the gods, but this wasn't the place to have a theological discussion. "She believes it is, isn't that all that matters?"

May nodded and looked at the glowing cairn. "I will still miss him," she said with a sniffle.

Harry reached into a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief which he offered to her. She smiled her thanks and wiped at her eyes.

Just as the glow hit the top stone Fawkes appeared in the sky and dove for the tomb of the cairn. He flashed to flame just as he touched down on the top of the lid of the cairn. The sealing spell enveloped him as well as the cairn and he started to sing, still in his flame form.

A shudder of emotions rushed outwards like a tidal wave and everyone took a step back in surprise. Fawkes had barely started singing when the dragons surrounding the graveyard joined in the song. The addition of the dragons seemed to deepen the emotional effect. It was a sad melody, Fawkes was mourning the loss of his faithful companion. The humans by the grave were stunned into total silence by the emotions the music generated within them.

Eddie ended her sealing spell and Fawkes leaped into the air. He circled the cairn several times still singing before he flamed away.

Fawkes left, having accomplished what he had set out to do; it was the last time he was ever seen in Britain. With Fawkes gone the dragons finished the chord and settled into silence, allowing the humans a chance to recover their composure.

Deeply moved Harry reached with his ability to speak to any dragon. He wasn't sure if Fawkes could hear him or not, but he sent out a simple, _"Thank you Fawkes, we will miss you too."_

Chekiath turned to look at Harry in surprise, then he also sent out his thanks. Hundreds of dragons added their thanks and then Harry suddenly had a flash of an image. It was Albus peering over his half rim glasses and smiling. Hermione gasped and leaned against Harry. "Was that Fawkes?"

"Who else could it be?" May replied also deeply moved by the image that came over her dragon bond.

"A sad day," said a voice behind them. "I don't think I will ever grow comfortable with attending funerals, especially like this one."

Harry turned to see Prince Charles standing nearby. He released his grip on May and Hermione and bowed to the Prince. "Your Highness."

"The queen deeply regrets being unable to attend, but she had a schedule conflict that couldn't be resolved. Also I bear a message from my sons who now know of the plans for next month. They ask if they can come visit just prior to the press conference? I believe they hope to be present and perhaps help in some small way."

Harry smiled. "We would be honored to host your sons sir. If they wish, they can arrive a week ahead of time, I daresay we can keep them occupied just by showing them how we care for our dragons."

The Prince nodded his head. "A week would be too much of an imposition on our part, but if possible I'll see about them arriving a few days ahead of scheduled press conference and plan on bringing them home with me that day."

"They would be welcome sir," May said, surprising Harry.

Prince Charles smiled softly. "Thank you Miss McNulty," he said eying her with interest. He had been briefed on some of the relationships forming in the Weyr and in particular the one involving the Weyrleader. He turned to look towards Hermione who stood close to Harry.

Harry blinked then he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I should... Your Highness, may I introduce you to Weyrhealer May McNulty and Wing Second Hermione Granger."

He nodded in greeting. "The riders of Chekiath's consorts. I have heard about the relationship imposed on you."

May leaned against Harry and shook her head. "Sir, with all due respect, but it's not really an imposition. The dragons might have been the instigators of things, but we accepted it. Hermione is like a sister to me."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "It works, Harry loves us and I'm surprised to find that we all have equal respect and love for each other."

Charles shook his head in amazement. "I admit I find it rather odd, but a year ago I would have said talking dragons were equally strange. Just do me one favor and when my boys visit don't let them start thinking it's acceptable. I would hate to discover Prince Harry wants to build a harem because his good friend the Weyrleader has two girlfriends. The press would crucify him," he said with a chuckle to show he was only kidding.

"The funny thing is I can see something like that happening," Hermione said a bit sadly.

"We'll just have to work harder to make sure it never does," Harry said firmly. "The Weyr would be very pleased to host your sons sir. If we have your permission we could even take them flying."

Charles grinned, then he glanced over towards the Prime Minister who was gesturing to him. "I will allow it, but I won't tell them that. It can be a surprise for them."

Harry returned the grin, then bowed slightly again when the Prince stepped away to see what the Prime Minister needed.

"Is the service over?" Harry asked.

"It looks like it is, people are milling around now," May replied.

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Cheki, tell Garanoth that the Wings may stay or return as they want. The Condron and Maziang Wings are welcome to join us for dinner if they wish. Also tell Eddie Took that if she needs a ride home we'll be happy to provide it."

"_I'll take care of it Harry."_

Harry walked towards the exit of the family graveyard, it opened into a much larger graveyard. He wasn't surprised to see Remus and Mildred O'Connor standing by the gate.

"I figured I'd find you heading this way," Remus said. "You want to see their graves."

"Don't you think I should?" Harry asked suddenly sounding unsure. Both Hermione and May immediately figured out what Remus was talking about. Harry's parents and family were in the larger cemetery.

Remus shook his head. "No, I'm surprised none of us considered this sooner."

Harry smiled softly. "I only thought of it this morning to be honest. We've been really busy of late."

"_Harry?"_

Harry stopped mid-step. "Yes Cheki?"

"_The Green Lady says that she wants to stay with the Harper today, but thanks you for the offer,"_ Chekiath replied.

Harry nodded. "Thanks mate," he said, then he motioned for Remus to led the way.

"Harry, do you want to be alone for this?" asked Hermione.

He shook his head. "No, it's only fair that my family meets my parents," he answered, then he looked at May. "I think this is one time when I wish you did have some magic. We can see, and talk to ghosts. Hogwarts was full of ghosts."

May blinked and stared at him in shock. "You don't think your parents..."

Harry shook his head. "As much as I would like to be able to really speak to them, they aren't ghosts, just like Albus didn't remain behind. There is so much we don't know, but we do know that we each have a spirit that leaves our bodies when we die."

"_I can see them for her Weyrleader,"_ Trath announced.

Harry turned to look in the direction of May's dragon. "That's right, you should be able to see them."

May shivered slightly and she looked troubled. "So when my Grandmother died it wasn't the end?"

"Albus used to say that death was merely the way to the next great adventure," Hermione offered. "I understand what Harry's trying to say. Hogwarts has many ghosts and by being exposed to them we learn that life continues. It's a comforting thought and does help ease the mourning."

"Eddie Took wasn't kidding when she said that Albus is probably working on improving the after life May," Remus added, then he pointed, "Your parents are this way."

Remus lead them down a narrow footpath that ended in another gated area. "Twenty generations of Potters are here," he said softly, then he pushed the gate open. "Your parents are over by the large oak."

Remus stopped and waited by the gate while Harry walked over to tree. Underneath it were a pair of joined headstones. He stood silently for several minutes, then he sighed. "I used to dream about what I would say to my parents if I ever got the chance. For a while when I was growing up I thought maybe they had just dumped me with the Dursleys and I was dreadfully angry at them. The Dursleys always put me down and said no one would ever want me. I believed that, even to the point of thinking my parents would have left me with them. One of my teachers at school finally explained what being an orphan really meant. I went home that night and cried in my cupboard. I think that was the last time I ever cried no matter what the Dursleys did or said."

Hermione opened her mouth and May shot her a quelling glare. Harry was rarely this revealing about his past and she didn't want Hermione breaking the mood.

Harry fell silent and he looked down again at the marble stone, after a minute he sighed and reached for the hands of both girls. "Come on, we have guests waiting for us at the Weyr."

Hermione pulled free and stared at him in surprise. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Harry ran a hand though his hair and he shuffled his feet, a sure sign he was uncomfortable. "What can I say Hermione?" he asked gently. "I don't remember them except for a few seconds of bad memories that the dementors dredge up. I can't be angry at them, they didn't abandon me, they were murdered. All the things I wanted to say to them would have been great if they were alive but they're not. The only thing I can do is hope I haven't disappointed them too badly."

He paused and took a deep breath. "What is it the dragons say? What matters is what we do now. I'm sorry I didn't get to know my parents, but I can't mourn something I don't remember. My children will still have two sets of grandparents and two wonderful mothers. That is what I have to focus on. My living family, not the one I can't remember."

"But Harry," she protested.

"Hermione, where are my parents?" he asked.

She looked at him in confusion, then glanced over his shoulder towards the grave.

He shook his head. "No, they are not there, they are not ghosts either. They have moved on to their next great adventure if you believe Albus. I can be anywhere in the world and talk to them. I don't remember them but I imagine my mum would have been like your mum Hermione, only with red hair and magic. And my dad would be like a mix of Sirius and Remus. I've held a few conversations in my head with my mum, trying to explain the both of you, but really all I can do is go forward. Someday when it's my time I hope that my mum will be there to welcome me and I'll spend a long time explaining about you both to her. And I know Chekiath will be there, throwing in his comments."

"_I go where you go Harry,"_ Chekiath said seriously.

Harry smiled broadly and gently squeezed the hands of each girl. "I know mate. For now we have each other and that's good enough."

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- It's been a while and those of you that belong to my Yahoo group know why this file has been delayed so long. For those that don't belong, the simple fact is my father passed away on the 8th of last month. I rushed to his side in New Jersey and afterward discovered I was the executor of his estate. It took a full month to clean out his house and put it up on the market. During that time I was nearly a full continent away from my files. And while my father had internet access, he never bothered to record his password anywhere that I could find it. So I was disconnected until the middle of January when I purchased a portable wifi hotspot.

Finally to make matters worse, upon returning home, both Alyx and I came down with a wonderful case of the flu, probably picked up while we traveled back to Idaho.

So that answers the question of why this chapter has been so long delayed. We're sorry if this bugged some folks, but honestly, you ain't paying me yet, so I can still set the schedule. Hopefully we'll now go back to our regular two week update from the date of this chapter.

- Feynor complains he's losing sleep due to our stories. Sleep? What's that? Sleep is a privilege not a right. Suck it up Feynor and join the bleary eyed set.

- Harriverse, you're reading this wrong. The Weasleys aren't off the friends list. They just aren't important to the story. In fact they will pop up from time to time but will never assume an important role to the story.

- TEMOS, a review is not the way to contact an author about a writing project. At least I think it was a writing project. Seriously I don't know what drugs you were on, but I'll pass, your review made less sense than an IRS instruction booklet.

- Normally I use these notes to mock various reviewers and generally intimidate people. Psay for example, rarely has anything of note for me to comment on. But I thought it would be fun to single out one person for special mention and mockery and Psay won the draw. Should Psay be worried? Most definitely. Should you be envious of Psay? Well only if you're a masochist. So here's to Psay, who leaves good reviews and seems to be a nice person. But now we're onto you and you're on our official watch list. Don't step out of line.

- Moof has been reading our stories in front of the fire. I just hope he isn't drinking while he reads. Reading in front of the fire could result in a dangerous spittake. He recommends that we take Alyx to see Doctor Who Who to fix the disclaimers. Seriously. Doctor Who Who, I know him, he's down the hall from Doctor No No.

- Rexnos, dangerous territory is my middle name! I married Alyx didn't I?

- I know we normally close off the chapter with a recommendation. Unfortunately I been a bit busy so I really don't have one this time around. Perhaps next chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Alyx stood at the podium and she held a golden stuffed Llama in her hand. The Llama had been sent to her by one of her admiring fans and she was using it as prop.

"I'd like to thank the academy..."

"What are you doing now? I mean really, why can't you just give me an honest to god disclaimer?" moaned Bob.

Alyx looked at him primly. "I will have you know that I am practicing my Oscar acceptance speech for my Who Who epic. I am told by an inside source that I'm a shoe in in the category of best Who who based fan fiction by a handicapped individual."

Bob blinked in surprise. "Handicapped?"

Alyx blushed slightly. "So I might have lied on my application, but I did stub my toe the other night and now I'm limping."

Bob shook his head. "Look, for one thing, the Oscars are over for this year. And for another they don't give out awards to fan fiction authors."

Alyx glared at Bob. "Why should I believe you? I think you're jealous of my story. It's got everything. Evil Villains, scantily clad Snapes in tutus, Who whos in abundance, even capped who whos! And an exploding clown! What have you got? Silly dragons and some lame old plot."

She sniffed and clutched her stuffed Llama tighter. "You don't even have any glitter or sparkle. Draco was going to have a sparkling who who in this chapter and he'd name him Edward."

Bob clutched his head and moaned. "All I wanted was a disclaimer telling people we don't own Harry Potter and the Dragon riders of Pern. Instead I get sparkling willies named Ed!"

Alyx looked at her Llama. "You do like the idea of sparkling stuff don't you? Come, let's go figure out what we're wearing to the award show. Oh I do hope we'll meet Tom Cruze. He'd like our story, I hear his who who doesn't sparkle."

Bob looked up and sighed and looked at the audience. "I'm at a loss. Why don't you read the chapter while I see if I can find that straight-jacket for Alyx. Then I'll fedex her back to the shrink and let him deal with her."

* * *

**I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.  
- Galileo Galilei**

**Office of the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Magic, July 1st...**

Sir William looked up from his desk and spotted the empty desk that Albus used to use then he sighed again. He missed the old wizard who had so much influence, both in Britain and abroad. The absence of Albus was like a gaping wound in the office. Sir William had no idea just how much life the old man had added to the office until he was gone.

Without him the office limped along, still operating, but not quite right. It was like driving a car and you had that vague sensation that something wasn't right with it, but you couldn't understand what.

Alejandro grunted sourly, then he stood and walked over to William's desk and handed him back the note. It was a letter which had been hand delivered to Sir William on the day of Albus' memorial service by the Weyrleader.

"Albus must have had some inkling," Alejandro said softly. "I mean it's clear from his letter that he expected something like this."

"He did," Sir William replied. "He told me that his healers were urging him to retire. He wanted to stay on until the end of the summer, then retire to the Weyr where he could do some tutoring and maybe write a book about some of the things he had seen in his life."

Sir William trailed off into a pensive silence. Both men knew that book would never get written now.

"About the letter," Alejandro prompted.

Sir William shook from his revery. "Yes, do you agree with Albus?"

Alejandro sat down and thought for a moment. "Of the current department managers, few could have generated as glowing a recommendation as Albus gives him. I do know that he has worked tirelessly for us and his reputation for honesty and integrity is unassailable. Under the previous administration he was thought to be a bit of a nut case, but now in hindsight I think we were the ones unwilling to see what he already knew. Still..."

Sir William leaned forward in his seat, "Still?" he pressed.

"It's a daunting task to not only fill Albus' shoes here in the ministry and to represent us at the ICW. I fear he might be unwilling to step into such a large role. Albus cast a very large shadow on the world and no man is going to easily fill that spot," Alejandro said.

"Alejandro my friend, Albus is gone. I might wish it otherwise, but there is nothing we can do but muddle forward. This office has been limping this past week because he isn't here. Its time for us to move beyond that and get back to the real business of government."

Alejandro made a sour face and nodded reluctantly. "Yes I agree," he said, then he sighed. "I guess it will just take time to get used to someone new in his seat."

Sir William nodded, then he pressed a button on his telephone.

"Sir?" said his secretary's voice from the speaker.

"Would you contact Arthur Weasley and tell him I need to see him straight away?"

"Yes sir."

Releasing the intercom button he smiled weakly at Alejandro. Alejandro stood and returned the grin, then went back to his desk. The minister was correct, the office needed someone to take up Albus' tasks.

**American Express Office, Heathrow Airport, July 2nd...**

"Next please," said the teller.

The man shuffled forward to the counter. "I vant to exchange money da?"

The girl smiled. "Of course sir, how much money are you wanting to exchange and into what currency?"

Andrei Illushkin returned the girl's smile and she suddenly felt threatened. There was no warmth or humanity in that smile. The man looked at her like she was prey and it seriously creeped her out.

"Two tousand American dollar into pounds," he said, passing over an envelope with money. The teller smiled and accepted the envelope, but now bells were ringing loudly in her head. This was the seventh Russian sounding man in the last four hours to hand her an identical envelope of two thousand American dollars. Sheer circumstance had forced all of Janus' men to use the American Express office. The nearby Barclay's office was closed for renovation and the closest other money changing office was in another terminal.

Janus' men had arrived in England using multiple flights, each man carried two thousand American dollars so that they didn't alarm customs by having an extraordinary amount of money on them. The plan was simple and well thought out. Each man would be responsible for a small piece of the total money needed. It had been assumed that they would handle that requirement at the St. Petersburg airport.

That assumption was to have a fatal impact on the plan although no one knew it yet.

Janus discovered the Pulkovo airport branch of the State Bank of the Russian Federation did not have enough English pounds on hand to cover the money change. It was a small, new office staffed by just a handful of people and like so many other things in the new Russia, they advertised services that they couldn't always supply. They had just enough on hand to convert Janus' money and part of his companions money. Janus was surprised, but it wasn't really a problem, it just meant they would have to convert the money into pounds in England.

It was unusual, but not unheard of for some of the smaller companies to give their employees cash rather than handing them a credit card to use while away on business. What was unusual for the American Express teller was the amount of people asking for the same thing, plus the fact that the envelope lacked any sort of bank or company logo and contained notes were sequentially numbered. There were enough oddities in her mind that she decided to be more cautious, especially with this Russian and his cold emotionless eyes.

Normally she would hand count the notes, but now with her suspicions raised she smiled at the man. "One moment sir." Then she walked over to a newly installed counting machine that could also detect counterfeit currency. She placed the money in the hopper and pressed the button. The machine whirred to life and the money was counted and moved to a new bin, the wrong bin for real money. A red light lit up on the side of the machine and the small display indicated an error code that explained what was wrong with the bills. The machine was also linked to the security office in the back of the building and an automatic message was sent to alert security.

Counterfeiting was a difficult form of crime for authorities to deal with. Often there were multiple victims as the person passing the bill was often also a victim. Usually police tried to approach someone who was passing bogus money with a gentler approach because of the fact that they were a victim as well.

The teller glanced up as two uniformed security guards exited the back room and approached her station. Andrei paled and turned to run, only to run right into the arms of a plainclothes security guard that tried to stop him.

What the security guard didn't count on, was that he was dealing with a man that had been trained to kill quickly and efficiently. Andrei lashed out at the man trying to block his escape, hitting him solidly in the neck and he fell to the floor gasping as his fractured larynx started to swell, blocking his windpipe. He would die before help could arrive.

The teller screamed and dozens of customers scrambled out of the way. Another teller hit a button sounding an alarm that echoed outside the American Express office in the cavernous like space that was the international arrivals building.

One of the uniformed guards lunged at Andrei while the other moved to block the exit. Andrei whirled around and his foot lashed out, hitting the guard who grunted and fell to the floor gasping and wheezing from multiple broken ribs. Another passenger moved to block Andrei using his luggage as a shield. Andrei glanced at his traveling companion who knew that his cover was still safe until he acted. Seeing no help from that quarter Andrei leapt for the plate glass window of the store front and smashed his way through it. He stumbled and fell to the ground, his left thigh nearly sliced to the bone by broken glass. He lay on the ground just outside of the Amex office for a moment, then he tried to struggle to his feet, but it was too late as airport police arrived and quickly put him into restraints.

As more police arrived, they sealed off the Amex office. Andrei's traveling companion would not escape detection for long.

It would take twelve hours before the British realized what kind of problem they hand on their hands. In the meantime they had one wounded Russian civilian, another Russian implicated, one dead plainclothes security guard, one injured guard, and one hysterical teller who vowed she was moving back to Brighton to work for her family's fish and chips business.

By the next morning an alert would be quietly issued for the rest of the Russians. CID had spent hours interrogating two men and getting no where before a senior inspector requested some help from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was the first time the DMLE had been asked to help CID and it set the stage for how the two groups could coordinate on major crime cases.

Meanwhile, alarmed by the fact that two of his men failed to meet at the rendezvous point, Janus ordered his men to scatter and make for various channel crossings. He would attempt to contact Mu, but he didn't hold much hope that he would be reachable. Unless the Sea Pearl hugged close to the coast, they would be out of range for most of the trip.

**#10 Downing Street, London, July 4th...**

It was very early in the morning when Harry was ushered into the office along with Sirius and Katherine. Lord Mills and Sir Robert were already waiting for them, having been helicoptered, down to London from his home, the previous evening.

Sirius woke Harry very early that morning and told him he was needed at #10 as quickly as possible. Harry knew instantly this was serious since Sirius didn't make his usual off color remarks about him sharing a bed with two girls. Harry had hastily threw on his dress uniform and he had taken Chekiath while Norendrath carried Sirius and Katherine who had also been summoned to the meeting. Katherine and Sirius' presence suggested a security problem, and a big one at that.

Entering the spacious office of the Prime Minister he was surprised to see that John Major looked like he had pulled an all-niter. The office was strewn with cups and half eaten food and the man had thrown his jacket to a chair and loosened his tie. It was a far cry from the neat, fastidious image that John Major usually portrayed. Maps, and faxes lay on the large conference table and someone had taken the liberty of putting a large map of Northern Europe up on one wall.

Lord Kennewick also looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep. He was busy conversing with a man that Harry didn't recognize, although he did recognize the ornate uniform of a Royal Navy admiral.

John Major looked up from his chair and gave Harry a tired smile. "Harry! Do come in, we've been waiting for you."

Major stood and gestured to the others in the room. "You know Lord Kennewick and Ambassador Enzhu from the Chinese embassy, but I doubt you know the First Sea Lord, Admiral Jock Slater."

Katherine stood awkwardly by the door while Sirius made himself comfortable on the couch. Lord Kennewick motioned her over and handed her a file folder. She read the cover and then nodded left the room.

The man in the royal navy uniform straightened and offered his hand to Harry. "Weyrleader, I have been meaning to get out to your establishment to offer my personal thanks for what your people did for the Orkney and her crew," Slater said. He eyed Harry's uniform with intense interest. It was very similar in cut and color to the dress uniform of the Royal Navy, but the insignia and beret were completely different.

"Thank you sir, my only regret is that it took so long for us to locate your ship, had we gotten there sooner we might have been able to save those men," Harry said quietly.

"What is this?" asked the Chinese Ambassador.

"Mr. Ambassador I'm sure you recall the news near the end of March where a Royal Navy vessel suddenly appeared, deserted and on dry land?" asked Major.

Enzhu nodded slowly, "Yes I thought it was highly unusual." Enzhu didn't bother to add that he had ordered the reports forwarded to the Ministry for State Security as a precaution.

"The Orkney suffered an engineering accident which left her adrift and uncontrollable right in the middle of a severe storm," Admiral Slater said. "She was starting to sink and the weather made it impossible for us to rescue the crew. We were afraid we were going to lose her and her crew. The Prime Minister asked if the dragons could help since they don't seem to be bothered by the weather like a helicopter would be. They rescued the crew and moved the ship to a place where we could recover her."

Enzhu's eyebrows rose up, he remembered hearing about that particular incident and had thought some of the speculation in the press was absurd. At the time he had been certain they had been given incorrect information by the British government, trying to cover up some sort of military mishap or experiment. This admission by the British pointed to some abilities of the dragons that he wasn't aware of.

Harry looked embarrassed. "I told the dragons to take the boat to a safe place. She was sinking. It never occurred to me that they would move it inland, I thought they'd place it on a beach somewhere," he explained. "It had taken so long to find the ship that my only concern was saving the lives of the crew."

Admiral Slater turned to look at Harry appraisingly. He was reminded of some of his junior officers that had been thrust into bigger roles than they were used to and were unsure of themselves. "You did far more than anyone could have believed possible young man. Twenty seven families have you and your dragons to thank for bringing their loved ones home. The ones we lost are a tragedy but we were ready to write the ship and her entire crew off as lost at sea. You changed that."

The Chinese ambassador looked shocked, then he turned to Harry who shrugged. Since his first meeting with the Weyrleader he had been putting together a file on Harry for his government. It was surprisingly sparse, containing very little background information. What information it did have came from his own observations and this news would make for an interesting addition to the file.

The real mystery of Harry Potter was that there was almost no background information on him, no school records after age eleven, no indications that he played in school sports, or participated in any community activities. Nothing. He seemed to vanish from British society from age 11 until he reappeared as the Weyrleader. Harry Potter was an enigma, and that made Enzhu's superiors nervous. Magic had not been discussed during Enzhu's trip to the Weyr so he remained ignorant of Harry's true background or for that matter, the true nature of the Weyr. Colonel Mu had not seen fit to share the reasons for his alarm to the Ambassador, nor had his government.

"What did I tell you Mr. Ambassador," offered John Major with a broad smile. He had been trying to chisel his way past the implacable facade of Ambassador Enzhu for a while now. "The dragons just want to help people. The Hot Rocks are just a very small part of what they can offer to their friends."

Enzhu nodded, Major was just repeating a point he had made several times, but in light of this new revelation, it was possible that the British Prime Minister hadn't been just spouting British propaganda at him.

Harry nodded fervently. "We are constantly looking for ways we can employ that would help us gain greater acceptance from people."

"You'll never have to worry about that from me or my service," Admiral Slater said emphatically. "In fact it is your performance over the Orkney incident and others that convinced Sir John here to ask for you to join with us on a joint operation."

Harry turned his attention to Admiral Slater and John Major coughed lightly. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's start from the beginning. Everyone please have a seat."

Harry took a seat between Lord Mills and Sirius on the couch. He looked around for Katherine and then looked at Kennewick.

"Major Atkins is receiving a briefing concerning security at Campbeltown Weyrleader, if we can't come up with a plan here among ourselves it will fall upon her shoulders to provide local defense of the Weyr, at least on the ground until the 24th of the SAS arrive," Kennewick said to his unasked question.

Katherine had left the room after receiving a folder from Lord Kennewick. The folder detailed the equipment and known capabilities of the men coming to the Weyr. If the navy failed to stop them, it would fall to her shoulders to defend the Weyr long enough for the dragons to organize and for the local army troops to arrive from the adjoining base.

Harry grunted softly and nodded. He glanced towards Sirius who looked decidedly unhappy. He had grown very close to Katherine and was planning on asking for her hand soon. He had confided in Norendrath about that, who in turn told Harry. Harry was exceedingly happy for his Godfather and hoped nothing bad would happen to Katherine.

Major waited until everyone was seated, then he opened a file on his desk in case he needed to refer to it. "Colonel Jin Tan Mu, formerly of the Ministry of State Security for the People's Republic of China vanished several months ago from his current assignment at the Athens Embassy. When he did, he took a large sum of money with him."

Major handed a eight by ten photo to Kennewick who placed it next to the large map hanging on the wall. The photo showed Mu in his uniform. His expression was entirely neutral and his eyes conveyed a total lack of human warmth. That the photo seemed to be taken outdoors at some sort of celebration only added to the chilling effect. Here was a man surrounded by happy people and he was unmoved by the events around him.

Harry nodded, he had been briefed on this fellow before. In fact he was the reason why they practiced defending the Weyr against assault.

"What we didn't know for certain, but have now verified, is that he headed for a former Soviet satellite nation and managed to hire himself a sizable force of former Soviet Army commandos. And that he's heading to Scotland even now."

Harry took a sharp breath and leaned forward in his seat. James had placed a hand on Harry's arm, but it hadn't been necessary. Harry had resisted the urge to bolt to his feet.

Major smiled at Harry's milder than expected reaction. It was a sure sign that the tutoring they had been giving him was starting to really take hold. Major glanced down at a folder. "Two days ago we had an incident at Heathrow Airport which resulted in the death of a plainclothes security officer employed by the American Express office there. The cashier clerk became suspicious of so many men of Russian origin asking to change money into pounds and opted to try a new device that counted and detected counterfeit currency. All of the money he was trying to change was counterfeit.

"The American Express security officers were in the back of the office and they came immediately while an office clerk called airport police. The man trying to pass the money panicked when he saw the security guards. A brief scuffle ensued in the store which resulted in the Russian killing a plainclothes security officer. He fled the scene only to be caught by airport police after he injured himself trying to escape. One other Russian was implicated as his traveling companion and subsequently arrested. He was also carrying a large amount of counterfeit American dollars on him.

"We were alarmed for several reasons. The security officer was killed with a single blow, it was an efficient and deadly strike suggesting that our man in custody had been trained to kill. Also both men bore tattoos suggesting they had worked for the Soviet Army special forces. Needless to say our alarm grew, as did our questions."

Major shot a glance towards the Chinese ambassador which clearly said that the counterfeit money would be a topic they would discuss in detail at another time. He turned back towards Harry and the others.

"Our suspects were being very closed mouthed until we asked Sir William if the Ministry of Magic could provide anything that might convince them to talk," Sir John said. "To be frank we were highly concerned and willing to break a few legal rules to find out what they were doing."

Sirius chuckled and Harry glanced at him. "Talkative tea Harry," he said with a grin.

Harry returned the grin. The Ministry of Magic slipped the men veritaserum, probably in a beverage. John Major managed to look embarrassed to be caught out, but he nodded to the pair. Sirius had been right with his guess.

"The Weyrleader knows about magic?" exclaimed Enhzu in alarm.

Harry shrugged. "My parents were both magical Ambassador, but they were killed when I was not yet two years old. I was raised as a normal and didn't know about magic until I turned eleven. We have a small number of riders who are also magical," he said after a quick glance at Major. The Prime Minister nodded slightly and Harry took it to mean he should be careful. "Because so many of my riders are not magical, magic has a low priority in the Weyr."

Major smiled thinly, Harry had carefully answered the Ambassador with a vague, yet correct answer.

Enhzu nodded. He knew Harry's response was carefully thought out, but he wasn't sure exactly what was being concealed from him. The dragons had been emphatic that they were not part of any military organization and he believed that. He was coming to suspect the dragons were a power unto themselves, a wild card on a global scale and that worried him. The fact that their leader was magical didn't seem to be an issue, still, it would have to be reported to his government.

"Yes well since both men were to be charged with attempting to pass counterfeit money and one with murder, we avoided asking them anything about those crimes," Major said with a fake smile. "We wouldn't want our case thrown out on a technicality now would we?

"In any event, they had an awful lot to tell us that was very alarming and the best part of it all is they don't even remember telling us their plans. Unfortunately, by the time we thought to resort to those measures, the rest of their group was no where to be found."

Both Harry and Sirius knew he was referring to the obliviate spell. Their prisoners would never remember a single detail about that part of their interrogation.

"What we know for a fact now, that the two men were part of a team of people who came ahead with intent to link up with this Jin Tan Mu. They were to rent boats, lorries and several small coaches so they could offload a large cache of weapons with the intent of assaulting Campbeltown Weyr."

Major paused and he glanced around the room noting the grim expressions on every one.

"This former Chinese Colonel is on the way here with eighty former Soviet Army commandos and a boatload of weapons. That's the bad news. The good news is he couldn't afford a very good ship, so it's not due to make landfall somewhere around Dover for another thirteen days.

"CID is now conducting a nationwide manhunt for the other Russians, but as a precaution we are moving a British Army unit to the vicinity of the intended landing site. The locals and the media are being told it's just a field exercise."

Major looked up from the file he was reading. "I have been informed by Ambassador Enzhu that the official view of his government is that Jin Tan Mu must be stopped at all cost. If he can be captured and returned to Beijing he will be tried under their laws, but they will not complain if something untoward happens to prevent him being taken alive."

"The People's Republic is unwilling to risk our good relations with our friends in the United Kingdom," Enzhu said smoothly. "This man has become a danger to world peace and to our new relationship with our dragon friends."

Harry looked at the man for a moment, he greatly disliked the smooth attitude he was displaying. It was part of the diplomatic process that Harry hated the most, pretending to be something you aren't. Turning back to Major he said, "I take it that you have something in mind?"

"We do," Major said, then he nodded to Admiral Slater. "Admiral, if you would?"

Admiral Slater nodded and walked over to a large wall map. "Once we had information on the ship, we contacted our allies. The German Marine spotted the ship this morning still quite a distance away. Currently they are shadowing the ship with one of their P3 Orions."

Slater placed a photo of the Sea Pearl on the map and used a magnet to hold it in place.

"They are deliberately staying in contested or international waters to avoid any national coast guard. Without sufficient reason even our allies would be reluctant to board this ship, and that's without telling anyone that there are eighty heavily armed terrorists on board. No one wants to tangle with eighty heavily armed men, and sinking her would be a public relations nightmare for the country involved.

"The ship itself is old. It's a commercial design from the mid 1930s. By today's standards, she's slow, ungainly and hard to handle. Given her speed and the information we gained from our prisoners we know she plans to make landing on the night of the seventeenth. She could have arrived a day earlier, but Mu chose that night specifically."

"No moon," muttered Sirius.

"Exactly," Slater said approvingly.

Sirius shrugged when he saw Harry looking at him with a quizzical expression. "When your brother is a werewolf you start paying attention to that sort of thing. Remus hasn't changed in months, but I can't break the habit."

Harry nodded and turned his attention back to Slater.

Seeing he had their attention Slater continued with his briefing. "My own personal preference would be to stand off and fire a pair of Sea Eagles into her," Slater admitted. "But then, there are some political considerations to worry about. For one thing, the Russians aren't going to sit back and ignore an attack on a Russian registered ship even if it is a commercial vessel. For another, killing that many former Russian army types is sure to ignite a diplomatic furor no matter what reason we came up with. And then there is the issue of the dragons themselves."

Harry looked up sharply. "What issue?" he said in surprise.

"Weyrleader... Harry," Major said gently. "You and your dragons have been a friend of Great Britain since we first learned of your existence. Any plans that we make should be made with your knowledge and we should give you an opportunity to take part. This man is coming to attack your Weyr. I thought that the Weyr would want to help in securing its safety. The Royal Navy is amply able to contain this threat, but we felt that you should be afforded an opportunity to help."

"It's a shame you can't just dump that thing Between, but if you did, we'd never know if we captured all of the terrorists," Major said unhappily.

Harry nodded thoughtfully, he had enough training now to read between the lines. The British were reluctant to take on this problem alone and were hoping for help from the dragons. This way if something went wrong, the blame could be shared. This was a diplomatic hot potato. He was glad that the British were asking for the Weyr's help, he just wished it was for something less serious.

"We could be of help I suppose. I'm not keen about dragons attacking a ship loaded with armed terrorists unless we have permission to sink her," Harry said while staring at the aerial photograph of the ship.

"We still have time to plan Weyrleader," offered Slater. "Right now our initial thought is to shadow the ship until she makes her run for the English coast. Then, a task force based around the Illustrious will make a speed run out to catch her mid channel. The Illustrious has ample space for your dragons and they are going on extended deployment the very next day so we'll be able to control any leaks. By the time she makes port again, the world will know about dragons."

"The Illustrious," Harry said cautiously. He was not very familiar with the ships of the Royal Navy, but this one rang a bell. "That's an aircraft carrier isn't it?"

"That's right lad, plenty of room on her for your dragons," James offered. He had never served upon her, but as a former Royal Navy officer he was very familiar with the ships in the fleet.

Harry nodded, then he stood and walked over to the map and photo and examined them carefully.

"What are you thinking Harry?" asked Sirius.

Harry turned to Sirius. "There's plenty of space on that boat to grab hold of. We could snatch it right out of the water and dump it in a football stadium full of troops if we wanted," Harry said carefully. "I don't like exposing the dragons like that, but timed right we could do it very quickly. Or if that is a problem we can sink it. One pass with the Campbeltown wings would melt her right down to the water."

Admiral Slater looked at him dubiously, but he saw that Lord Kennewick was nodding in agreement. "Surely not?"

"Admiral Slater, if anything the Weyrleader is underestimating the destructive firepower his dragons possess, probably because he doesn't understand what he'd be up against. But a group of dragons melted three T-72s in Kenya last year. I've seen the photos of what remained, they were barely four feet high and totally melted," Prime Minister Major said. "Sir Robert informed me that a continuous exposure to dragon fire would have vaporized the metal. Instead he estimated that the total exposure was about a minute."

"Less," Harry said absently, he had turned back to examine the photographs again. "Once I saw the tanks were no longer a danger, I ordered the wings off and went to deal with the wizards."

"Is that what you want to do Harry?" asked Lord Mills.

Harry turned to him and shook his head. "James, what I want is to just live in peace. That boat," he said, pointing to the picture, "means we can't do that. I want to look at this and figure out a plan that means the fewest people and dragons are going to get hurt."

He paused and took a breath. "Perhaps the best plan is to let the Admiral's men try to take the ship and if they can't, then we'll deal with it."

Harry shrugged. "I think what I need to do right now is just talk this over, with someone who knows what the Navy can do, and with my own Wing leaders to see if we can come up with something that will work. We have some time to plan this right?"

"Too right," agreed Admiral Slater. "This is something that bears careful planning. According to our records Lord Mills here should have no problem advising you about our capabilities. Is there anything we can provide to help you?"

Harry looked down and considered carefully the things he had been taught, something about this still seemed off. "I am going to assume that approaching the Russian government would have little effect?"

John Major nodded. "Unfortunately the Russian government is controlled by the Russian Ministry of Magic," he replied. "While the government is not openly hostile to us, I am afraid that they will be at best ambivalent to our plight."

Enhzu looked up sharply at Major, this was a revelation that he did not know about. The idea that one of China's neighbors was under the control of wizards was most disturbing. This meeting was turning out to be a veritable gold mine of information and not all of it was pleasant.

Harry nodded, then he looked at Lord Kennewick, "Sir, do we have any idea what kind of weapons they are carrying? Oh and can I get some copies of that photo, or other photos of the boat?"

Admiral Slater reached into his briefcase and pulled out a manila envelope and passed it to Harry. "There are a dozen aerial shots there along with a rough engineering sketch of that class of ship design."

Harry smiled in thanks.

"As far as we know they are carrying mostly automatic weapons, AK47s, grenade launchers," Kennewick said, then he consulted a sheet of paper in his hand. "I am also told they have roughly twenty SA-7s and handful of Sagger missiles which are more elaborate and harder to set up quickly. The SA-7s are anti-air missiles and very portable. The real issue here is how we approach them. Its very likely that these weapons are stored away. If we end up with a protracted fight they will have time to retrieve them for use."

"So why can't we use Harry's idea of moving the boat, but drop it someplace safe like an empty island that they can't easily leave?" Sirius said.

Harry blinked and turned to Sirius. "That's bloody brilliant!"

"We could do that, but where would we take them?" Harry asked, looking at Major.

"Wait a second, you're serious about moving a ship with eighty armed terrorists on board?" exclaimed Slater.

"Why not? If we must capture them, then this is the way to do it. The dragons won't be noticed unless one of the men actually touches a dragon. It took the Shetland Island Weyr less than thirty seconds for twenty dragons to move the Orkney. We could do it again, maybe even faster. With the Orkney they were careful to gently lower it to the ground. I say drop the boat on a deserted island from about twenty feet up and give them a few days to get uncomfortable then send in the marines or the army to scoop them up."

Kennewick and Major exchanged interested looks while Slater looked a little offended at the idea of dropping a ship from twenty feet. He knew that sort of drop was liable to seriously damage all of the on-board systems, it was likely the engines and generators would tear free from their mountings and be ruined from such a drop. The Admiral had no problem with the idea of sinking that ship and all the men on-board, but there seemed to be something immoral about dropping a ship on purpose.

"I think I'd prefer to have marines on hand to meet them," Kennewick said tightly. "No sense in giving them an opportunity to build a defensive position."

Harry looked at the man and nodded, it made sense to him and he recognized that military planning was out of his league.

"Where would you drop it?" asked Lord Mills to Harry.

Harry frowned and looked puzzled. "It would have to be someplace the dragons have visited before even if it's a place they just went to recently. And its got to be isolated enough so no one is put at risk and still close enough for you to easily move troops onto it."

He shrugged. "Until I impressed Chekiath the farthest I've even been was Scotland. Surely there must be someplace in the country we can use? Someplace isolated and remote, like an island?"

Admiral Slater smiled broadly. "I have just the place. We recently ran a survival test there. We dumped a dozen pilots on the island and told them we'd be back in a week. Skula Sgeir is an island in the North Atlantic, and technically it's part of Scotland even though it's more than fifty miles off the coast. Even in July the water temperature is dangerously cold. There's an island roughly twelve miles away, but that's deserted also except during the time the automated navigation beacon needs to be serviced twice a year. The Isle of Lewis is forty miles to the south and does have a small population plus a coast guard station."

Suddenly it dawned on him what was missing from this plan. "Assuming you catch most of them alive. What can you do with them?" asked Harry, catching the terrorists could be kept secret, but holding them couldn't. "I mean wouldn't the publicity of a trial anger Russia?"

Major and Kennewick exchanged a look, that was an issue they were still struggling with.

Major sank back in his chair. "Honestly Harry, I don't know, we could hold closed trials, but our laws do not allow us to keep prisoners in secret. They will insist on their embassy being informed and from there the whole story would be blown wide open."

Harry nodded grimly, the timing of this couldn't be any worse. The ship was due to arrive in just thirteen days and not much beyond that point they were planning on revealing dragon-kind to the world. It would be a public relations nightmare if it became known that the dragons were involved in the death of so many Russian nationals.

Harry sat back down on the couch, thinking furiously when his eyes fell upon Ambassador Enzhu who had been sitting calmly, taking in the discussion going on around him. _He sits there observing and so detached, as if he hadn't a care in the world,_ he mused with a touch of anger. Then he sat up straight. _No, that isn't true. He just doesn't realize the dragon dung he's about to step in if they continue to remain aloof._

Harry's brows furrowed in intense concentration and he held up a hand. Slowly the room fell silent as the others turned to look at him. It was only a few scant seconds but he could feel his bond with Chekiath broadening and allowing him to examine and discard dozens of options in a single breath. It was almost as if though Cheki was helping him achieve a greater clarity of thought. The only direct thing he could detect on his bond was an intense pride from his dragon, pride that his dragon was able to help his rider in this crisis.

"I think there is an easy solution and the only reason why it's escaped our notice is because of an oversight on our part," he said carefully. His tutoring had taught him that he was about to step on some diplomatic toes big time with his next statement.

Prime Minister Major looked at Harry in surprise and he leaned forward in his chair. "An oversight?" he repeated.

"The British and the Weyr can effect the capture of these men and take reasonable steps to keep that part of this operation secret. Unfortunately the British can't hold these men in secret and we have laws that prevent us from killing them. However there is a nation that is intimately involved in this situation and they can control what the media learns. We seem to think that this situation involves dragon-kind, the British and Russia, but there is another country that is equally involved."

Everyone turned to Harry and the room realized he was looking pointedly at the Chinese Ambassador. "It seems to me that our Chinese friends might be willing to accept the prisoners considering they were brought here by their man. We wouldn't be in this situation were it not for this rogue Colonel of theirs. And when our Russian prisoners speak to the press of the Chinese colonel that hired them."

Harry trailed off, leaving the statement unfinished, but the implication was obvious for all to see.

Enzhu's eyes bulged and Major started to cough on his tea. Harry held up a hand to stay their comments. "I know it's not very diplomatic to be so blunt, but Ambassador, even you can see the problems we're facing. Time is short and we don't have the time for extensive talks about who should do what.

"This problem could be resolved with a minimum of fuss by your country if we were to deliver the prisoners into your hands. I'm just the Weyrleader and admit I'm no diplomat, but it seems to me that all of us, the Weyr, Great Britain and China, have a role to play in solving this problem. China would be doing everyone a great service if they handled the prisoners. I'm sure if the matter became public, the public would also learn about your colonel who started this affair. No one wants that."

Major looked at Harry in astonishment, then he turned to Enzhu who was eyeing him a bit desperately. Harry had squarely laid the blame for the situation at the feet of the Chinese and then asked them to help with the one aspect that offered the least risk to men and machinery. And while he hadn't openly said it, he implied that China's involvement would become public knowledge if the British had to try and hold these men in prison. "While the Weyrleader's comments might have been phrased better, he has cut to the heart of the issue. I know this is something you cannot decide on your own, but I would urge to your contact your government. The Weyrleader rightly points out that China can keep this secret better than we can. After all once word leaked out, Colonel Jin Tan Mu's, and your government's, involvement would be impossible to hide from our press."

Enzhu's eyed narrowed, the Weyrleader had seriously upped the ante and now Major was claiming this could end up being a public relations disaster for his government. The British were openly stating that they could not and would not hide the Colonel's involvement in this affair. It seemed there would be enough mud to cover everyone, including the Chinese.

"I take it then that Her Majesty's government is formally asking for us to handle your prisoners in this case?" Enzhu asked carefully. This would also be something for his file on the Weyrleader. He had neatly boxed Enzhu into a corner because the Chinese had admitted that Mu had been theirs before going rogue.

Major nodded. "Yes sir, we are. I think the Weyrleader is right, our options are rather limited once we have the men in custody."

Enzhu stood and glanced around. "Then I must leave to contact my government for instructions."

He turned to Harry and stared at him for a moment. "Weyrleader, as you admit, you are young and inexperienced. But that hasn't stopped you from moving onto the world stage with skill and some daring. I think it will be fascinating to watch you in the coming years. And perhaps someday we will be able to host you and your Weyr in a visit to our capital."

Harry nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. His insides were all fluttery, he knew he had massively overstepped all bounds of diplomatic propriety by placing the blame at the feet of the Chinese. Everyone in the room knew they were to blame, but no one wanted to come out and bluntly say it. Until Harry said it.

"The Weyr would be honored to visit their friends Mr. Ambassador," he replied softly. "Perhaps a visit can be arranged after we reveal dragon-kind to the world."

Enzhu smiled tightly, he recognized that Harry was offering him the visit to soften the impact of putting Enzhu on the spot. He gave Harry a brief bow, then he nodded to Major and left the room. As soon as the door closed behind him Sirius started laughing. "Did you see the look on him?" he exclaimed.

"Sirius, not now," James said softly, then he turned to Harry. "Harry..."

"James, I know I know. I spoke out of turn, but the Chinese started this mess, it's only right that they help us clean it up. We are being asked to risk dragons and people because of their man, it's only right for them to help," Harry said, then he turned to Major. "Mr. Prime Minister, I apologize if I offended you or Her Majesty's government, but all I could think of was that this couldn't have come at a worse time. Not even two weeks after this boat arrives, we're planning on revealing dragons to the world. It would be a public relations disaster and undermine everything we want to accomplish if it became known that dragons helped kill off eighty Russians. The Chinese need to understand that we're cleaning up a mess they created. Its only right for them to help more than they have been helping."

Major looked thoughtful, "You are aware that the Chinese will likely execute the men rather than throw them in prison?"

Harry looked down and his feet and nodded. Sirius blinked and looked at Harry, then the Prime Minister. "Really?" he demanded.

"Our Chinese friends are not known for gentle handling of people they consider enemies of the state Mr. Black. Their justice is very harsh by our standards, any prisoners they take will probably not survive a week," Major said, then he turned to Harry who was still looking down. "Harry?" he asked gently.

"I know," Harry replied in a whisper. "I know it's condemning those men to death. But they were coming here to kill my dragons and riders. Someone was going to have to kill them, Dragons, Navy or the Chinese. I want to say that it will be the Chinese, but in the end it will be all of our hands on the gun that kills them."

Major nodded grimly. This was a hard lesson of statecraft for Harry, but a very necessary one. Major also knew that at some point Harry would also have to learn to order his own people into situations that would put their lives at risk.

"_Harry? What's wrong?"_ Chekiath suddenly asked.

He looked up towards the roof. "Nothing mate, I'll explain later Cheki, don't worry."

"_If you say so,"_ Cheki replied dubiously.

"No one likes to make these kinds of decisions Harry," Major said softly. "For what it's worth I think you were right to point out that China should help solve this mess. To be honest I've been itching to say that to the Ambassador for the past day."

Major closed the file on his desk and looked around. "I think we've covered enough here today. Admiral Slater I'll want a briefing update every two days from here on," Major said.

"Yes sir."

Harry stood and motioned for Sirius to follow him. As he walked out of the office he heard Admiral Slater telling James that he should expect to receive notice that his commission was being reactivated for the duration of this crisis.

**Harry's Quarters, later that night, Campbeltown Weyr, July 4th...**

May entered the living room and glanced around. "Where's Harry?"

"In the tub soaking I think," Hermione replied, looking up from her book.

"_He is in the bath, but he's rather unhappy with himself at the moment,"_ Comaloth said unexpectedly.

Hermione stared at Comaloth for a moment, then she closed her book and turned to May. "I know from experience that it doesn't pay to let Harry brood too much. Should we join him?"

May grinned. "Perhaps, but I'm going to suggest something a little more modest than the bikinis we've used in the past. We're going in there to help him, not tease him."

Hermione nodded and pulled out her Jordan wand. With a deft twirl of her wand both girls were dressed in a modest one piece blue swim suit. May looked at herself and she shook her head. "You come in very handy sometimes Hermione. Between your instant swim suits and your ability to make my cramps go away, I don't know what I envy more."

Hermione looked up from kicking off her shoes and socks and grimaced. She shook her head, May would have looked at home on the cover of any magazine. "You know, sometimes I wonder if Harry knows how lucky he is. I wish I look half as good as you do. When you walk by a group of boys they all stop and stare."

"Hermione I've seen Harry stop and stare at your bum when you walk past him," May said with a frown and a touch of irritation. "Has Harry ever given you the idea that he doesn't find you attractive?" May knew that Harry had a issue with his body image, but it was minor compared to the one Hermione had. She found it hard to understand because she thought Hermione was very pretty, and it was obvious that Harry agreed with her.

Hermione nibbled on her lip and shook her head. In fact it was quite the opposite and it sometimes made her wonder if Harry needed to have his contact lenses checked. Hermione didn't realize that despite Harry's refusal to compare one girl against the other, she was doing that to herself.

"Harry appreciates us equally Hermione, I don't think Harry has a body type preference or if he does, he hasn't shown it to me. And he knows just how lucky we all are," May said softly. "And as much as he enjoys his alone time with each of us, he enjoys our together time just as much. How many nights have we had where we've spent an hour in bed before going to sleep, just talking and laughing? If Harry is lucky, then we're super lucky Hermione. Think about that."

"_Don't worry my heart, I can feel him quite strongly when he covers you,"_ Comaloth said, _"and I can __feel May when he covers her. There's no difference between you two. He loves you both."_

"_Comaloth speaks truly Hermione," _add Chekiath.

May giggled softly at the dragons comments and she made a motion for Hermione to head in to join Harry. It wasn't the first time the dragons got the last word in, and it wouldn't be the last time either.

Hermione nodded, then she headed into the bedroom and the connecting bathroom with the sinfully huge bathtub. Opening the door the pair stepped into the steamy room and went to slip into the tub. Harry sat, leaning against one wall on the built in bench seating. His eyes were closed and it looked like he was meditating. When the water level rose he cracked an eye open and smiled slightly. "I wondered when you two would show up."

May slipped into the tub carefully, then she leaned over and kissed his cheek. A moment later Hermione slipped into place on the other side of Harry and repeated the kiss, then both girls made themselves comfortable, close to Harry but not touching him. At least once a week the three of them share a bath like this although usually it's a time filled with laughter and some light flirting. Both girls usually wore a bikini for such times and it wasn't uncommon for their bath to end with one girl leaving while the other girl started kissing him.

They had some sort of system or schedule, but Harry had decided two things very early on in their relationship. First he'd never ask for any particular girl, the sole exception being when it was one of their birthdays. The second thing he had decided was to never question how they chose who he was supposed to make love to. He loved them both and could honestly say that he couldn't pick one over the other. Harry also secretly thought that all three of them at the same time would be a major embarrassment for him, he was certain that he wouldn't be able to perform in front a witness, even if she was helping.

Tonight however was different. The single piece suits suggested this would be more serious bath visit than usual.

"Harry, something is bothering you," May said, starting things off. She leaned back against the edge of the large tub and tied her hair up while watching him intently.

"And we'd like to help," Hermione added softly. She reached out with a hand and gently gripped his shoulder. "Please let us help."

He looked down and nodded. "You heard about the plans we talked about, to deal with the terrorists. It is very likely that a lot of the terrorists will be captured alive."

"Yes, I figured that out when you were explaining the plan. I was surprised that we just didn't let the Navy sink the ship, or for us to flame it," May replied.

Harry shook his head and looked decidedly unhappy. "We can't. And that is the problem. The end of this month will see a joint press conference between the Weyr and the British Government. Because of that we cannot get ourselves involved in an incident which results in the death of nearly one hundred Russian nationals. Attacking that boat while it's in the channel, or still in the north sea risks someone witnessing it. It's a risk we have to take, but sinking that ship in those waters is sure to leave traces of that fight. There's no way we could clean up the area enough to escape detection. The channel is one of the most accurately mapped bodies of water in the world. Admiral Slater told me a new wreck on the bottom would be picked up fairly quickly."

He sighed and shook his head. "So instead I arranged for them to be murdered," he said a bit bitterly.

"What?" exclaimed May breathlessly.

He looked away from both of them, refusing to see the loathing he was sure was there in their eyes and he explained about the Chinese and how since they created the problem, he had cajoled the ambassador into going to his government with a request that they handle the prisoners. He admitted that he knew full well that the Chinese would most likely execute them, but at least it wouldn't be done by the dragons or the British; and just as importantly, it wouldn't be covered by the world press.

A hand reached out and lifted his chin gently. "No one but Hermione and I know for certain what being our Weyrleader costs you. Oh Luna might suspect, but no one other than we two truly know. You did what you thought was right, you did what is right. You protected our reputation even if the cost of that protection is this guilt you now feel," May said firmly. "Your job is to look after the Weyr and dragons."

May gestured to take in Hermione and herself. "Our job is easier. Our job is to take care of you and help you in times like now, when you're doubting yourself and your humanity."

Harry stared into her green eyes intently for a moment, then he looked at Hermione just as intently. There was no loathing in the gazes he saw, no disgust, only concern and compassion for him. Hermione nodded and reached out to caress his cheek. "May is right. These people would gleefully murder us. Something had to be done. Between the Royal Navy, the Chinese and the Weyr, we're the only group capable of moving that ship quickly and efficiently. Its only right that we do our part, just as the Navy and the Chinese will do their part."

"You don't think what I did was cruel?" Harry asked dubiously.

Hermione smiled at him and shook her head. "Would it have been crueler to let them come and perhaps kill a few of us before we slaughtered them?" Hermione countered. She leaned back against the edge of the tub and looked up. "I thought about this for a long time. I know without a doubt that I would kill anyone trying to hurt my Comaloth."

She looked at them with a distinctly unhappy expression. "I don't like it. But my Mum once told me that she would have died to protect me. She was trying to help me to understand what your Mum did Harry. Mum said I wouldn't really understand until I held my own child, but I think I do understand.

"We do what we must to protect what is ours. Comaloth is mine, you are mine, in a way May is mine too and I would fight to the death to protect each of you. But the more I considered it, the more I realized that all of the dragons were mine too. If they came here Comaloth and I would have protected our Weyr with every means available.

"I don't want to call it maternal instinct because I think all of us, guys included, feel the same way but the effect is the same. You could have done nothing, and let the Royal Navy take a bruising in the press along with the political crisis that would have ruined the lives and careers of everyone from Prime Minister Major to the Captains on the Navy ships. Instead you found a solution that reduces the risk of this becoming public. It's a solution that only the Weyr could offer, even if in the long run it hurts you personally."

"Harry," May added, drawing his attention. "every one of us breathed a sigh of relief today when you explained how we'd be lifting that ship and dropping it in a place where the army could arrest those people. When you first started to explain the weapons they had and what their plans were, every one of us was afraid. We trained to avoid missiles but I kept hoping that the army, or the police, someone would stop them from coming here. When you started to explain what we were up against I was terrified."

"We may still have a fight on our hands May, it all depends on the Chinese at this point," Harry countered. "Our plan can work only if we have surprise on our side."

"I know that, and I also know my Weyrleader and the man I love will do whatever is necessary to protect us," she replied. "Even if it frightens me." Despite the hot water May shivered in the water setting up gentle ripples. Harry reached out and lightly gripped her shoulder and she gave him a weak smile. Through the open doors into the living room all three of them could hear Trath crooning softly, trying to comfort her rider.

May was an incredibly strong and courageous young woman but Harry quickly came to realize that wasn't the case when it came to conflict. She could be strong in the face of terrible injuries and illnesses, but she wasn't a fighter unless forced into it. It was a different kind of courage and he didn't think any less of her because of it.

May would fight if she had to, but she would freely admit her fear, and hate every second of it.

He nodded slowly, seeing their point of view even if his own self doubt still nagged at him. Finally he took a deep breath and looked up at both girls. "Thank you," he said. "I can't begin to tell you both just how important you are to me."

He tapped his forehead. "Even with Cheki in here, telling me it's right, sometimes I can't help worry. I mean those men would kill us. Instead our plan calls for them to die and I don't feel sorry for them. That's what had me concerned. I wasn't sorry for them. I wasn't sorry that their lives were going to be thrown away and probably no one would ever know what happened to them."

"You started to worry that because you weren't concerned for them, you were losing your humanity?" Hermione asked softly.

Harry looked up and nodded. "Exactly."

"Harry, your humanity isn't at risk of being lost. Not when you put so much value on children that you send dragons to guard schools full of kids you don't know and will probably never know," May countered. "You are one of the most caring people I know and I don't doubt for a single minute that you're going to make a great father despite those Dursleys."

Harry blinked and his eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

May suddenly looked unsure and she glanced at Hermione. "Well you see..."

Hermione grimaced and decided to help May out. "Harry, we don't talk about it because it makes you uncomfortable, but we have a pretty good idea how your aunt and uncle treated you. Besides the scars you carry, you still occasionally have a nightmare and say things in your sleep. The muggles say that someone who is brought up in an abusive environment is more likely to abuse their children."

Harry stared at her. The idea appalled him. "Please say it isn't so." he whispered.

May moved closer and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Do you trust us?"

He nodded without hesitation.

"Then trust us when I say neither Hermione or myself think you'll be that way. And believe me when I say that if I thought for a moment you'd abuse your children, I wouldn't be in this bath with you or in your bed," she said firmly.

"If anything we feel that you may end up spoiling our children," Hermione added. "Solely because you want them to enjoy all the things you were denied."

He looked between May and Hermione who nodded at him. "Believe it Harry, we do," May said fiercely.

He nodded, a bit unsure, but he trusted them completely. Hermione stood and announced she still had some studying to do before bedtime, then she climbed out of the pool. Harry nodded and watched her go. He couldn't help but admire her form in the tight fitting bathing suit. As soon as she was gone he turned his attention to May who looked just as fine in her suit.

May moved closer and straddled his lap, then she started kissing his face softly. "Someday you're going to be the father of my children and we'll love them together," she said softly between her kisses.

He wrapped his arms around her and wondered what he had done in a previous life that had resulted in him getting so lucky.

**Office of the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Magic, July 5th...**

"Sir William?"

Sir William glanced up from the email he was reading. "Arthur, please, just William. Let's save the titles for special occasions."

Arthur nodded a bit nervously. He hadn't been working in the office long and he was still uncomfortable with it.

Sir William leaned a bit closer and motioned for Arthur to sit. "Now how can I help you?"

Arthur sat and he opened a folder he had found in Albus' desk. "How familiar were you with the projects that Albus was working on?"

Sir William leaned back and looked thoughtful. "I would like to say very, but something in your tone makes me believe you found something that is a surprise?"

"Yes sir, I found notes and a crude outline for a plan to reveal magic that is very different than what everyone has been working on," Arthur replied.

The 'plan' as it was called in the Ministry building was totally stalled. The ministry had a mandate for revealing magic to the mundane population, but there was no clear cut idea how to accomplish that goal. In fact some muggle psychologists had offered the opinion that if not handled properly it could create a wave of resentment that would be nearly impossible to control.

It didn't help that with the overthrow of the previous administration, the primary goal of the current Ministry was to get British wizarding society back on it's feet with an effective ministry running the show.

"A different plan? Different how?" pressed Sir William.

"Sir, Albus hadn't finished his alternative plan, but I believe I can fill in the blanks. The one principle difference is that under Albus' plan, it would take decades before the government would finally admit that magic exists. He outlined an idea that would start by attempting to legitimize potions for some medical uses. He wanted to slowly reveal pieces, potions to cure the common cold, then let unicorns be discovered to exist, that sort of thing. Carefully, over decades, piece by piece, the wizarding world would be revealed until all that remained would be the existence of wizards and their society. Albus felt that long before then muggle society would have already worked out for itself that magic was real and revealing wizards would merely be the final step."

Arthur fidgeted nervously and glanced down at the file. "Throughout his plan, the government would continue to deny magic until magic was believed by everyone, then we'd admit to its existence. But there's a lot of holes in his plan and he didn't take it far enough I think."

Sir William stared at Arthur for a long moment, then he spoke. "Arthur, do you think you can take his rough notes and put together a plan we can present to the prime minister?"

Arthur blinked in surprise then he nodded. "I could sir, but it's still not enough. Magic doesn't just exist in Britain. Albus was building a plan that involved Britain, but we need to go farther. We need to get the ICW to buy into this plan or our efforts could still spark a war between wizards and mundanes elsewhere."

"Yes that is a possibility," Sir William admitted. "Assemble your plan Arthur. Include a general timeline so that we can get a feel for what's involved. If we can sell this to the PM, I'm sure he'll have you present it to the ICW."

Arthur stood and smiled. "Yes sir."

"One more thing Arthur?"

"Sir?"

"Where do we stand on the population issue?"

Arthur smiled. "Percy and the Department of Revision is working up a comprehensive tax relief package that provides significant bonuses for families that have more than one child. Also part of that package are business stimulus items to promote research into new products. Finally the Department of Magical Education has been tasked with examining the idea of using part of Hogwarts to open a school of advanced studies. It's a daunting task and I'll admit it can't be fixed overnight, but we're trying."

Sir William smiled broadly. Arthur was working out far better than he had expected. "Very good, thank you Arthur. Make that plan a priority, I'd like to be able to present it to the PM soonest," he said.

"Yes sir," Arthur said, then he stood and walked back to his desk.

Sir William watched Weasley retreat to his desk and he gave a sigh of relief.

The population issue seemed to be heading in the right direction, and now it looked like they may have a workable plan to reveal magic to the world. The Ministry of Magic had a royal mandate to reveal magic and it was the one thing that had him tearing his hair out. Their plan wasn't working because they had too many other problems to address. Hopefully Weasley could take Albus' ideas and turn it into a plan they could really use.

**Hangar Two, Campbeltown Weyr, July 7th...**

Dusk was fading fast and darkness enveloped the Weyr. Harry stood with most of the riders outside of Hangar two. The Weyr had returned earlier from a trip to Skula Sgeir, everyone now had a clear picture of where they'd be jumping to, and they'd made more than a dozen jumps just to lock in that memory. Harry and Ronan had taken a Royal Navy helicopter out to the island, then called their dragons to them. From there, they had returned to the Weyr and passed the jump imagery to the Weyr then they spent several hours jumping back and forth to get used to the location. The island was surprisingly bleak and uninviting a perfect place to dump a boat load of terrorists in Harry's opinion.

Now, they were tired after a hard day and were anxiously awaiting the results of Sir Robert's efforts. The science complex was visible in the distance and everyone could see it was a beehive of activity. Up until an hour earlier the Weyr had been settling down for the night when Karen Khan received a frantic call from Millicent Bulstrode telling her that they had to shut down all of the electronics in the Weyr. They were about to turn on the test power station for the first time when someone realized that the Weyr was on the same circuit. They could disconnect the entire base from the power grid, but the Weyr itself was still wired to the local circuit.

The original plan had been to separate the Weyr and the science complex onto two distinctly different circuits, but there hadn't been enough time.

Harry glanced at his watch, then he looked up. A horn blared from the science complex for half a minute, then the lights at the Weyr, science complex and the new SAS base suddenly went out.

"That's not good," Sirius murmured.

"Sir Robert said they would be disconnecting the Weyr from the national grid, they probably just did that," Remus murmured.

"Ohhh national grid, you going all techie on us Remus?" Sirius said with a snicker. "This is what happens when you fall in love with a scientist."

"Sirius?"

"Yes Remus?"

"Shut you flea bitten cur," Remus said mildly. Several of the riders chuckled at the antics of two older wizards.

"Is everything turned off?" asked Harry suddenly, trying to distract Sirius and Remus before they started wrestling on the ground.

"Everything except the roadway and runway lights. Sir Robert wanted them left on to provide some power drain," replied Remus. "I personally checked all of the offices in the admin building to make sure everything was off. Millicent said they spent the afternoon shutting down the laboratories. Besides, it's too late now to worry about anything still turned on."

Harry nodded and glanced down at his watch. The Weyr was still totally dark, the sun had slipped below the horizon and now was only a faint glow to the west. The only electric lights came from the soldiers who were still settling themselves into their new base attached to the science complex. Harry could see lights of several land rovers moving slowly along the roads; here and there were hand torches of soldiers on foot patrol or just gathering outside to watch. In the distance to the south a soft glow signaled the direction of the town of Campbeltown on the coast.

He glanced back towards the hangar and stifled a chuckle. The riders were barely visible in the darkness, but the dragon's eyes glinted in the darkness. Many dragons were clearly visible with that strange streaky twirling glow of colored light that signaled an emotion. His own dragon stood nearby with softly glowing green indicating his own amusement. The glow had even attracted the attention of a Marine Biologist at Condron weyr who wanted to study how the dragons utilized their bioluminescence.

Harry turned back towards Remus when the older man spoke. "Sir Robert is still experimenting with the heating chamber design, but they wanted to get the power station up and running; at least enough to power the science buildings and the Weyr," Remus said in the darkness. "He said he hoped to have the design finalized by the end of next month, but they will run with their current chamber design. There's already a team of engineers scaling up the design for a 750 megawatt power station. Sir Robert seemed to think it was important to have the station running."

Harry smiled at hearing the older wizard throwing around muggle terms, "Of course they want it running. Sir Robert wants to be able to include a working power station on the press tour that we'll be giving. The more Sir Robert can demonstrate, the more impressive it will be. Lee has even included a presentation of the hot rocks and power generation in his press kit."

Harry chuckled. "Fortunately I talked him out of handing out sample hot rocks. He wanted to take a bunch of small stones, heat them to a few degrees above body temperature and attach a key chain to them. I told him it's a good idea, but not for this event."

The others nearby chuckled, it was a prime example of how Sir Robert's enthusiasm often got the best of him.

As it stood Lee's press kit was big enough to fill a mid-size piece of luggage, containing posters, disks of photos, printed information on the riders and video tapes. Lee had sent a complete kit to the Prime Minister's office which had farmed out the duplication effort to various government groups.

Mariah's insistence, they had special t-shirts made up with the black and white dragon logo identical to the flag that they used in front of the administration building. Each kit contained two adult t-shirts and two child sized shirts and several cloth iron-on patches with the same logo.

When the shirts first appeared in the Weyr all the riders clamored for several and now it was one of the most popular items among the riders.

Harry inhaled sharply when the lights across the Weyr flickered several times before coming on full, then they dimmed again and went out. There was a minute of darkness, then the lights flared to life again and burned with a steady brightness. Everyone held their breath, but the lights held steady. Minutes ticked by until the science complex signaled success by sounding a horn three times in rapid succession.

The Weyr was now running on dragon power!

Harry grinned broadly and several riders cheered. It was one thing to talk about generating power with the hot rocks, it was an entirely different issue to be able to demonstrate a working system as an accomplished fact. It was a very positive sign.

Harry turned to Remus. "Give a call to Sir Robert and find out if it's all right for us to turn our electronics back on. Draco gets too grumpy if he misses an episode of Doctor Who."

Remus grinned, he couldn't blame Draco ever since he had discovered Fawlty Towers.

**Office of the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Magic, July 7th...**

Alejandro entered the office smiling broadly. Both Sir William and Arthur looked up from their desks.

"What's got you grinning so broadly?" asked Sir William.

"I think we just caught a major break in our little rebellion," Alejandro announced. "One of the men we picked up last night said that Carlos the Gerbil seems to have fled to the continent. He also rolled over on the names of six different cell leaders. The problem with a cell based organization is that if you catch someone high enough up, they know everyone lower in the organization."

Sir William started to smile broadly. "So Carlos fled when his attack failed?"

Alejandro nodded. "Apparently the idea was for one big attack that would draw attention and support to their cause. With the attack being thwarted by dragons and our press conference a few days later highlighting the complete failure, the group of rebels collapsed. Most have gone into hiding or are trying to flee the country. Carlos among them."

"Excellent," Sir William murmured. This was really good news. It would have been better if Carlos had been caught, but at least things would calm down here with him gone and his organization scattering. "Are we certain this is the case?"

Alejandro paused a moment. "Certain? Well what we know for a fact is that a great many of the British subjects that joined up with Carlos' group have either been arrested or have vanished, presumably fleeing the country or hiding. Carlos has not been seen since prior to the attack on Percy Weasley and Hawthorne, the man we picked up last night, said he's fled the country. I've asked the ICW to pass the word to us if he's spotted anywhere."

"So we've broken the back of our little rebel group?" asked Arthur. Arthur had been offered Albus' old job based on a letter Albus had written prior to his death, recommending that Arthur replace him.

"It looks like it," Alejandro said with a big grin.

Sir William nodded and turned to his desktop computer. It was time to share the news with his boss. He was certain Prime Minister Major would be relieved to know that this particular danger seemed to be past.

"Thank you Alejandro, stay on top of this, and make sure the MLE puts every effort into rounding these people up. I don't want to find out a year from now that Carlos is back and stronger than ever," Sir William said in warning.

Alejandro nodded and walked over to his desk to sit. He had his own memos to write.

Each man turned back to their tasks and Sir William glanced around and smiled. The office finally felt like things were working again.

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, July 8th...**

Harry placed his tray on the table and sat down next to Hermione and May. Like every morning he stopped in at his office and did a fast email check before heading out to get his breakfast.

"No word?" May asked.

Harry shook his head worriedly. Since his meeting with the Prime Minister and the Chinese Ambassador, he had been waiting, hoping to hear that the Chinese had agreed to help deal with any prisoners. The Ambassador had flown back to Beijing the very next morning after the meeting and since then, they had heard nothing.

The Weyr had been splitting it's time between preparing for the unveiling and practicing covert approaches to shipping in the Irish Sea. In the past week they had popped out of Between just yards from all kinds of shipping in the Irish Sea and Harry was never so grateful as now for the dragon's ability to remain unseen.

"No, nothing," he replied, then he opened his notebook and started to check what was next on his list while idly sipping his tea. He stared at the item for a long moment, then he looked up at Hermione suddenly with narrowing eyes and she looked at May for a moment before looking back at him. "What?" she asked worriedly.

"What are your plans for today?"

"Wing two is supposed to be working on cleaning up hangar four today. Its the last hangar for us to check over," she replied.

He nodded. It was more of a sprucing up instead of cleaning up. Marty Benson and the others were checking each dragon stall and sprucing them up by hanging photos and other items. The dragons were very appreciative of photos of their mates, and of Harry. Nearly every stall had a picture of Harry in it much to his chagrin. The house elves had already cleaned the hangar, now Wing two was making sure the dragons were comfortable.

Cheki's bed space in Harry's house, for example, contained a group photo of Harry, May and Hermione, along with photos of Trath and Comaloth. Comaloth's bed space was virtually identical except that she had one of the two prototype dragon book readers mounted on the wall. More of the readers were on order, but since they were largely hand made, it would take time before they could be delivered. Four new readers were due in a week, but for now they had to make do.

The dragon stalls in Harry's house lacked the extra walls that the hangars had. Chekiath didn't want any walls between him and his consorts. Because of that, it wasn't uncommon to see all three dragons watching the telly or sharing Comaloth's book reader.

Harry was certain that Comaloth was moving into the role of a true harper to the other dragons. She could often be found in the dragon lounge when not helping Hermione, there she would repeat back the stories she had read with an amazing accuracy.

"Margret Sheppard is bringing her boss to the Weyr today. I am wondering if you would be interested in helping with that?" he said.

"Me? Are you sure?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Harry held up a hand. "Yes, but I need to tell you, this could mean eventually that you have to give up your position as Wing second. Right now I don't see that happening, but who knows what it'll require in the future. We need the services of Margret and her company but we also need someone of our own to be our contact point between us and them. I foresee a time when the Weyr has it's own home grown solicitor."

He paused and played with the mug in his hands for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Each of us are finding our places in the Weyr. Karen for example right now is learning the business and accounting aspects of maintaining the Weyr under Lord Mills. In a few years time she'll be fully in charge of our finances and James will be just a consultant for the business aspect."

He gestured towards the table where Susan and Mariah sat talking animatedly. "Susan has taken it upon herself to ensure the physical structure of our Weyr is working. I know for a fact she's looking into learning how to design buildings like apartment complex design we paid for. If she can learn that then Susan can design Weyrs for any environment and she can still be in charge of our physical Weyr.

"Mariah is likely to become our chief public relations spokesperson with Lee working in the background since he has Wing three also. Lee enjoys the work, but he's already told me he would prefer to concentrate on running the public affairs office instead of being spokesman."

"It's an important position," Hermione said a bit uncertainly.

Harry looked at her in surprise, he had never known her to shy away from hard work or shy away from responsibility. "Hermione I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you couldn't do it. You may find you really like it and want to study law. The Weyr needs someone that can do this and I know you can."

May leaned across the table. "Try it Hermione, you may find it enjoyable, or in a couple months you can tell Harry and he'll find someone to replace you."

Harry nodded, he knew he was parceling out very important positions to the first riders, but they were the ones that were furthest along in their rider training and in the maturity of their dragons. He didn't want to assign people to such positions until their dragons had passed the point of their first shagging flight.

"Albert Ford will be showing Margret and her boss around the Weyr this morning," he said, then he glanced at his watch. "If things went to plan they are watching the video introducing dragons in his office right now. I expect them in my office later this morning. Come to my office around eleven and I'll introduce you."

Hermione nodded, she understood that Harry was trying to help her, and the Weyr at the same time. He needed someone to fill a position and he knew she was still hoping to find someway of being more useful to the Weyr. "I'll be there," she said quietly.

Harry smiled and turned back to his breakfast before either girl could complain he wasn't eating enough. He had filled out very nicely thanks to all the work he had done in the last year, but Doctor Sheppard had made both girls aware that he considered Harry nearly twenty pounds underweight. Both girls watched what he ate and how much and weren't afraid to bug him if he didn't eat enough.

Two hours later Harry was surprised when Hermione managed to let herself into his office without him noticing. If was only her soft laughter that caused him to look up. He was busy reading a book from Sir Robert which explained how power generation worked. Along with the book was a report explaining the differences in what they were doing. There was a lot of technical information that he was struggling with, but he felt he needed to understand this in case someone asked him.

Two dates loomed large in his mind. July 17/18th was the expected date that the terrorists were expected to make the channel landing and July 31st the date they planned on publicly revealing the Weyr and dragons to the world. He wasn't sure which one was more important, but he knew that the terrorist attack threatened their going public.

And if that wasn't bad enough, come July 26th the Weyr would be playing host to a variety of press personalities and technicians as everyone prepared for the press conference. News companies would be bringing in their people on the 26th for a full briefing as well as setting up video links to their parent news organizations. The work crews would be sequestered at the Weyr until noon on the 31st.

Time was getting precious and Harry was feeling really stretched thin.

"You know, there's something about a guy reading that I find very attractive," she said with a smile.

Harry looked up in surprise, then he grinned at her. "I'm afraid it's rather dry reading, but Sir Robert thought it would help."

"It's a shame there's no time," she murmured, then she licked her lips a bit hungrily. Neither of Harry's girls was above seizing an opportunity when it presented itself.

He grinned and glanced up at the clock, then back to Hermione. "Unfortunately they should be here any minute otherwise I'd be happy to help. I know a lot of this is going to be new to you, but I really need your help with this love. I need a rider, someone I trust on the inside of this."

Hermione flushed with his praise and nodded, then she took a chair and reached into her bag for a book. She barely had the time to read a full page when the door opened again. "Harry? You ready for us?"

Harry smiled and waved Albert Ford into the office along with Karen Khan, Margret Sheppard and a man he didn't know. "Weyrleader, may I present Richard Haskins, senior partner of Haskins, Mitchell and Glower," Margret Sheppard offered. "Richard, this is Harry Potter, the Weyrleader for Campbeltown."

Harry stood and offered his hand to the shocked man. He shook Harry's hand and then sat heavily in a chair. His worldview had been turned on its ear this morning and seeing a teenager for a leader was just another blow to his sensibilities.

Harry sat down and chuckled softly then he gestured to himself, and Chekiath sitting in his cubicle attached to the office. The man was staring at the pair intensely. "Mr. Haskins I realize today has been filled with shocks to your idea of what the world should be, but believe me when I say we didn't invite you here just to mess with your head. We need your help very much. He gestured toward a map which contained more than two dozen yellow pins and just three blue ones, plus a handful of black pins.

Harry stood again and walked over to the map and pointed. "Each pin represents a population of dragons. The yellow ones are unmanned Weyrs that can someday be a working Weyr like this one, the blue ones are manned Weyrs, and finally the black ones represent places that are unsafe or unfit for humans and dragons and will have to be moved to another location before the Weyr can become a manned Weyr.

"Every Weyr will need local legal assistance, and we need someone coordinate that from here. We need a firm that can direct the other legal companies, helping us set policies and directives that they will have to follow."

Haskins glanced at Albert who was grinning at the man. "I know what you're thinking," Albert said. "I thought the same exact thing when Harry offered me the job of negotiator for the Weyr. How can someone so young be in charge of all this."

Haskins nodded. "The thought has crossed my mind," he replied gruffly.

Chekiath opened his eyes and he turned his large head so he could see everyone. _"My rider only appears young to your eyes,"_ he said. _"He has fought for us and paid with his blood, he has earned the respect and love of his mates and his dragons world wide. He can tap into memories of countless generations of dragons who walked the Earth long before mankind could even make fire. He commands the respect of the Lord and Lady Holder of this land."_

Haskins blinked, then he turned towards Chekiath, "I meant no disrespect to you or your rider, master dragon, but by our standards your rider is still a child."

"And that is why we have a number of adults acting in our stead for the next few years," Harry replied smoothly. Hermione glanced at Harry in surprise. This was his training in diplomacy coming into play and it was the first inkling she would have of the Weyrleader as a statesman.

"For example Lord James Mills officially handles the Weyr finances and British Government liaison, while Karen here learns the business of running the Weyr. In less than a year she comes of age, Lord Mills will continue to help out, but Karen will begin to assume the duties of chief financial officer for the Weyr with Lord Mills helping her. I have a dozen other people that stand to move into adult positions once they come of age. Albert handles our negotiations and answers to our Weyr council that is made up of riders and adults. He'll continue to handle most of the commercial stuff after I turn seventeen, but I could easily do the same job were I not so busy.

"We are the first manned Weyr the world has ever seen and because of that, some allowances have to be made for our apparent ages. Ten years from now this won't be an issue, and only new riders will be so young. Some of our riders are already of age, and within three years, nearly everyone of the first riders will be a legal adult in this country," Harry said firmly. As he spoke he had walked over to Chekiath and scratched his eye ridges.

"Think about it Mr. Haskins, in less than a month's time the world will know of us and some of our abilities. We will have people banging down our doors for access to the Hot Rocks. Sir Robert tells me that within a week of our going public he'll be submitting over twenty five international patents which will be jointly owned by the Weyr and the British government. And then there will be the requests for endorsements, or to appear on television shows. Albert will handle initial talks with the various countries looking to allow a Weyr in their territory, but once he is done we'll need local solicitors to represent that Weyr, and someone to coordinate them so that the Weyrs follow our lead," Harry added softly. He glanced out the window to see a line of dragons walking by his window and he smiled. They knew he was in an important meeting and wanted to provide a little reinforcement. Still smiling he turned back to Haskins.

"We'll need someone to draft contracts for licensing our technologies, and contracts for hiring our services. We'll need legal representation to press the governments of the world to accept dragons as no different in the eyes of the law as other people. Any country willing to consider dragons as a people, perhaps strangely shaped people, but still people, will find the Weyr and dragon-kind will treat them as friends and work eagerly with them."

Haskins nodded nervously, the parade of dragons walking by was driving home the scope of the effort. "All right but who will speak for the Weyr now? It still has to be an adult."

Harry nodded. "The Weyr council is composed of mostly adults. For all legal matters Lord Mills has authority but he cannot act without the approval of the Weyr council which in turn takes direction from myself. Karen has been closely monitoring the business aspects, but Miss Granger here will be involved in the legal aspects as well as all attempts to coordinate the various legal firms around the world so we are adequately protected. It will be another year before she can sign off anything as an adult, but I asked her to become involved now."

Haskins looked at Hermione who hadn't been introduced to him. "I'm sorry," Margret said suddenly. "Richard, this is Hermione Granger, Wing second of wing two and Comaloth's rider."

Haskins nodded to Hermione offhandedly, dismissing her as another kid, she bristled slightly and dropped her outstretched hand. _"Relax,"_ Comaloth said suddenly. _"The Weyrleader wants you to relax Hermione."_

"Mr. Haskins," Harry said in a frigid tone. "Miss Granger, might be young, but is your firm so well off that it can afford to throw away a lucrative contract on a discourtesy? There are other firms that would kill for the opportunity I'm offering here."

Harry named a few firms including two that were known world wide for representing the Royal Family and some of the richest people in the world.

Haskins stared at him incredulously then he flushed. He had never been dressed down by a teen before, but he had also never met a teen like Harry. "You are right and I apologize. I'm afraid the age issue is harder to put aside than I thought it would be."

He turned to Hermione and offered his hand. "I'm sorry Miss Granger, I was rude to you and it was uncalled for."

"_He means it,"_ Comaloth sent to Hermione privately, although she suspected Harry could hear all dragons, even when they spoke privately to their rider.

Harry nodded to Hermione, only increasing her suspicions, then she reached out and shook Haskin's hand. "I accept your apology," she said softly.

Haskins nodded and turned back to Harry. "Why would you turn down law firms like that. It can't be because of their rates, Mr. Ford here tells me you and your dragons are going to be as rich as some OPEC members combined."

Albert looked at Harry with interest, he too, had been interested to know why Harry was picking this small, unheard of law office.

Harry moved back to his chair and sat. "Two reasons actually, the first being it is true that the British government suggested some very well placed and famous firms. However a great many of those firms either currently represent the royal family or have close ties to the government. While I am willing to acknowledge that the Weyr owes a great debt to the British nation, I prefer to know that the people representing the Weyr, are truly representing us and not British national interests."

Haskins nodded in surprise, the reasoning was solid. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a notepad and placed it on his knee. "And the second reason?"

Harry grinned. "When I first talked to Margret about your firm, I looked you up on the internet. According to what I could find, your younger brother is a solicitor in Canada, working for a company that has represented the local Inuit tribes in several cases against the government. We're in a similar situation here, and there is a Weyr located near Bannf national park that can become a manned Weyr. I am not looking to be antagonistic to our host countries, but I want legal representation that won't be afraid to stand up to them if need be."

Haskins smiled suddenly, the Weyrleader might be young, but he was clearly capable of doing his homework. He didn't advertise about his brother who was a junior partner in an Edmondton law firm but it was listed in his official online biography. He started to realize that this was even bigger than Margret had alluded to and he wanted it very badly. This would put his company on the world stage, right up there with the giants of their field.

He also knew who he had to thank for this dropping into their lap and decided it was time to start rewarding her as well. "Do you have any problems with Mrs. Sheppard being our principle point of contact?"

Harry shook his head. "I was hoping you would offer her the position since she's effectively living here at the Weyr and I'm certain Hermione won't mind working with her. If she needs it, we'll provide office space so that she can set up an office here. There are still a great many offices in this building that are unused."

"How much autonomy do the other Weyrs have?" Haskins asked.

"Weyr's are autonomous at the local level. They have a Weyrleader and a senior dragon or dragons. And at the local level they can pretty much decide what they want to do. Some aspects however I am reserving entirely to us alone. No Weyr can contract out for hot rock production. Campbeltown will handle all hot rock production and see the contributing Weyrs get a share in proportion to their effort.

"All scientific and technology research is approved by Campbeltown Weyr Council for now. I have plans to eventually replace the Weyr council with a Weyrleaders Council once enough Weyrleaders reach adult ages. And finally no Weyr can become involved with a nations military unless its required in order to defend that Weyr," Harry replied.

Haskins stared at Harry in shock and he shook his head. "Do you really think everyone will go along with those rules?"

"_Harry is The Weyrleader,"_ Chekiath said in the ensuing silence. _"Every dragon in the world, including the bonded dragons of Condron and Maziang obey Harry. If he orders something, they will obey him, even if it means disobeying their local Weyrleader or their rider. The dragons know Harry would only give __such an order to protect them."_

Harry nodded and smiled at his dragon. Cheki had summarized it correctly. He would give the individual Weyrleaders a lot of leeway, but if he truly thought the dragons were in danger he would step in right away and topple the local Weyrleader.

"Richard, it might be best if you consider each Weyrleader as if they were a colonial administrator, all answering back to Harry. He allows them a great deal of local leeway, but in the end, he can remove any local Weyrleader that tries to go against his orders and the dragons will comply," Albert Ford added. "I admit I was surprised when I first realized that, but the analogy is apt."

Haskins eyed the tall thin man for a moment, then he nodded slowly. "I think its safe to say at this point that Haskins, Mitchell and Glower would love to take on this project. I know Margret has been mostly involved in domestic law, family and children issues, but I think she can come up to speed quickly enough. I'll see about bringing in some contract specialists to help her."

_Yes, she'll come up to speed, plus with this kind of job we'll be able hire enough hands to do what we need to do,_ Haskins thought.

"Well she won't have to abandon those subjects entirely. I have a whole Weyr full of riders that are going to need help with family issues in the coming years," Harry replied. "Albert here will take you to Lord Mills' office and you can hammer out the arrangements. He has a list of items that need to be addressed immediately. Mail screening services need to be implemented immediately among other things," Harry said. "Hermione will work closely with Margret, but I would ask that she be allowed to sit in on any discussions so she can explain to me what is going on and what is involved. You might find that as a rider, she offers a perspective that is truly unique."

Haskins nodded eagerly and looked over to Albert Ford who smiled and stood, beckoning him to follow.

When Haskins and Ford left the room Harry shivered slightly. "I feel like someone just saw me as a deep money pit," he murmured, feeling a bit violated.

"Harry, Richard is really good at what he does. What you fail to realize is that we're a small local company with three senior partners, four junior partners and six associates. You just offered him the opportunity of a lifetime. He'll settle down and give you a good job. Right now he's just excited," Margret said.

Harry looked at her thoughtfully, then he nodded. "Very well, we'll see how it goes. James wasn't happy when I selected your firm instead of one from the list the government offered, so he'll probably work things out into yearly contracts until we're all comfortable with the arrangement. You have no problem with Hermione?"

Margret laughed. "Lord no, I know of her organizational skills and organization is a critical factor in law." Margret smiled at Hermione. "It looks like we're both going to be learning on the job."

Hermione returned her smile. "Everything about being a dragon rider has been a learning experience," she smiled, then she glanced at Harry and her expression softened. "I think it's been good for all of us."

Margret stood and Hermione offered to show her where she could set up for those times when she needed to work at the Weyr. The pair left, leaving a smiling Harry and Karen Khan still in the office. Harry turned to Karen. "Something on your mind Karen?"

"I just wanted to thank you for what you've done for Ronan. No one expected you to name him as your replacement should anything happen to you."

Harry leaned back in his chair. "You of all people should know we needed a fall back position, someone that could lead at least until the dragons select someone acceptable to them. Ronan seemed a logical choice, he's aware of the issues I have to deal with and Spath was willing to agree should something happen to me, Ronan is capable of leading the Weyr."

Harry didn't need to say it, but Karen understood. Ronan would assume a role similar to the other Weyrleaders. The dragons would most likely wait until another rider appeared that could talk to all dragons before bestowing the title of "The Weyrleader" on them.

"I do understand that Harry, but in picking Ronan you really boosted his confidence. He was a really good guy before that, but now," she trailed off and looked a little embarrassed. Harry's announcement came as a complete surprise to the Weyr, no one knew Harry was contemplating such an announcement.

"Karen I chose him because I trust him to do the job just like I trust you to handle the daily workings of our finances. We're all still trying to figure out who we are growing up to be besides just being dragon riders," Harry replied uncomfortably. "Ronan is more than just my wing second, he's a friend that I know I can rely on, that's important to me."

Ronan took the news in his usual quiet style, but Karen noted it's true impact on him better than any other. He was a little more serious and a little more determined now. He still indulged in his passion for radio control planes, but even that he approached with a more adult like attitude. Karen found the changes very appealing since they seemed to reinforce everything she found appealing in him.

Karen stood and smiled at him. Harry didn't understand what he had done for her Ronan and perhaps he never would, but she saw the changes in him and really appreciated them. Karen had always wanted a strong man in her life, and Ronan was reaching for his hidden potential that she always believed was there. She was proud that Garanoth had picked Neruth to be his consort.

"Thank you Harry," she said softly, then she slipped from the room.

Harry turned to Cheki in his stall. "Did I miss something in that conversation or what?"

"_Spath says we're not meant to understand females Harry, but they are necessary."_

Harry looked at his dragon for a moment longer, then he turned back to his desk. "I'll take your word for it mate," he muttered.

He pulled open a drawer of his desk that contained dozens of deposit statements, from muggle banks and Gringotts and sighed. Someday soon he'd talk to Margret about figuring out his finances and drawing up a will.

The Weyr had replaced the money he had spent in starting the Weyr. His Gringotts account now had nearly thirty thousand galleons in it, ten thousand more than he had started with. But it was the muggle accounts that confused him. There was a lot of money in multiple accounts that he really didn't need and he just wasn't sure what to do with it. Once a month he received statements from four different banks and he just stuffed them into the drawer. He wasn't a possessive person, he didn't need anything expensive. He had Cheki and Hermione and May and a roof over their heads. So what else did he need?

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown Weyr, July 13th...**

Harry stepped into the packed hall with a very serious expression on his face. One hand tightly clenched a copy of an email he had received only a hour earlier. It contained news that wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for.

The hall was packed, all of the riders and numerous others were also present. He had sent an all hands email calling for this meeting, then he followed up with an order sent via dragon that all riders were to be present.

He walked to the front of the hall and faced everyone. "Good evening," he said.

A soft murmur of replies filtered back, but mostly everyone was anxiously awaiting what he had to say. The riders knew of the approaching danger and judging from Harry's expression and demeanor, he wasn't here with good news. It set the stage for the mood in the room.

"I have received a message from the Prime Minister's office concerning the Chinese response to our request," he said. "The Chinese are willing to abide by our request only if we first give the terrorists a chance to surrender peacefully so that they can be arrested and extradited back to Russia under recognized international law. The Chinese are correct, in as much as we should follow the law here, but clearly their answer was not the one we were hoping for. If these terrorists willingly surrender, they can be tried legally without any repercussions although I suspect Prime Minister Major would deport them back to Russia. I am also reliably informed that the amount of weapons on board would be enough to convict them in any court in the world. Even Russia couldn't dispute that evidence.

"The problem is, the moment the shooting starts, we have a publicity nightmare on our hands that involves Prime Minister Major's government, the Chinese government, the Royal Navy and the Dragons. It doesn't matter that we and the Navy would be acting legally, it would be a nightmare of epic proportions. The British government would not be able to keep word of what was done secret."

"Our original plan called for us to surprise the terrorists by sneaking in and just lifting the ship. Now they'll be alerted and know they are under attack. If the terrorists refuse to surrender, then we have a fight on our hands with armed terrorists that know how to use their weapons. Should they fight, the Chinese would be willing to accept any survivors that might be caught."

He paused and looked around the room. It was grim news, asking them to surrender would alert the terrorists to the danger and would significantly increase the risk of a dragon or rider being injured.

"Dobby," Harry said quietly.

Dobby appeared carrying a large poster which Harry took and stuck to the wall. It was an aerial photo of the ship. Attached to that photo was a line drawing showing the silhouettes of the ship.

"We have to assume that the terrorists will be armed and ready to fight by the time we get involved," Harry said then he glanced towards Lord Mills. "Correct me if I'm wrong James, but first they would try radioing the ship with orders to cut their engines, then perhaps sending small boats with armed marines over to the ship?"

James nodded grimly. "It doesn't happen often, but this isn't a police traffic stop. The Navy will try to minimize the risk as much as possible. If they send out small boats with a landing party you can be assured that they will be a covered by a frigate or two and a Lynx helicopter. Actually I would expect the first move would be a radio order followed by a flyby. The Lynx's used by the navy are capable of sinking that boat," he said, then he gestured towards the photograph. "That old tub is slow, unarmored and just one of the Lynx's anti-ship missiles would sink her."

Harry nodded. "Thank you James. It would be nearly impossible for the Royal Navy to hide any causalities of their people and any injuries to the terrorists would come out in a trial or once they hit Her Majesty's prisons, so I expect that the Navy will not try to board that ship unless they cooperate."

Harry glanced over to Lord Mills who nodded in agreement. As a former Navy commander he couldn't see any way the Navy would put anyone into small boats without some sign from the ship that they would surrender without a fight.

Harry took a deep breath. "So let's assume that the Navy puts a helicopter or two over that thing and they start shooting. The helicopters would pull back out of range and then we get our turn. We have several options, we can try to rely on our ability to remain unseen and swoop in an grab the ship. That means we'll have armed and desperate men on deck who are liable to fire their weapons randomly and it increases the chances of someone getting hit."

He paused and looked back towards the others and saw a lot of the riders agreeing with that assessment.

Harry started to grin. "You know, I hate that idea. But I know we're going to be dealing with a lot of very frightened men with guns. So I thought about it for a moment longer and then it occurred to me. They are going to be _frightened_. What if we gave them something to be really scared about?"

Everyone looked interested at his emphasis on _'frightened'._

"What do you mean Harry?" asked Sirius worriedly.

Harry turned and gestured towards the photo again. "Simple. First a couple of unmanned wings appear from Between and blast the ship with fire. Hot enough to burn and injure, but not incinerate the ship. That, coupled with the shock of dragons appearing might cause them to panic and scurry below decks. Then the manned wings perform our snatch and dump."

"There's still a risk," Ronan said.

Harry nodded. "I know, but if anyone has a better idea, I'm willing to listen to it. The Chinese imposed this requirement. The only other option and its one I have considered carefully, is to burn that ship and all aboard down to the water line. But! Not two weeks after this we are supposed to go public and if anyone ever leaks that the dragons were involved in killing so many, everything we have worked so hard for will go down the drain."

"Why can't the Royal Navy blow them up?" asked Mariah, "Isn't that what they are there for?"

Lord Mills stood, but Harry waved him down. "Mariah, the Royal Navy has essentially the same problem we do. If the news of the fight leaks out, they will take a pounding on the world stage, plus then the Russian nation could step in. The Prime Minister is concerned that this could ignite a war between Russia and Great Britain."

"Harry's right," Lord Mills said. "The last thing we want to do is to cause this to come to the attention of the media. That goes for the Weyr, or for the Royal Navy."

"Harry," Ronan said slowly, he was staring at the photo intently. "There's not a lot of lines running on that thing. What if we were to snatch the people off of the deck and go Between. We could empty the deck and then grab the ship and dump it as planned."

Harry turned and looked at the photo carefully, it was a recent photo and didn't show a lot of rigging. "It could work and might cut down the number of injuries we'd cause. But..."

Ronan nodded unhappily as he realized the flaw in his proposal. "Yeah we might be picking up people holding machine guns," he said unhappily seeing the point Harry wanted to make.

Harry shrugged. "Its not a bad idea Ronan, but dumping them Between is too much like executing them. There is something truly awful about dumping people Between. I've done it once personally and ordered dragons to do it to eight others. I am not going to inflict that on anyone else if I can avoid it. It's also too easy. If I offered that to the government, there was a chance they would come back to us in the future, asking for us to deal with people they didn't want to deal with. That is something I will never let us be used for."

There was a moment of stunned silence in the hall, then a murmur of agreement. It took a bit before the riders understood that dumping the ship Between would have caused a different set of problems for the Weyr.

James Mills sat silently during this. Harry had pulled him aside and explained why dumping the ship Between had never been offered by the Weyr. He had to reluctantly agree with Harry that while Prime Minister Major's government might not start asking the dragons to dispose of problems for them, he couldn't promise future governments would be so altruistic.

"Harry, what about a magic attack?" asked Sirius. "You riders can see via your dragons. Align a wing of magical riders above the ship and let the dragons select the targets. Then you transfer between and fire off a stupefy. You could clear the deck of people, then grab the ship and go."

Hermione turned in her seat. "Sirius, we don't have eighty magical riders. We barely have forty five of us."

Sirius shrugged. "Borrow from Maziang and Condron to add to your numbers or use your crossbows. I know you have bolts enchanted with stunners," he replied.

Hermione looked up from her seat. "We have spent a lot time practicing with the bows," she offered. "This is why you selected them for us to use Harry. Have the manned Wings cover another group of dragons that does the lifting."

Harry nodded slowly. "I think I would rather rely on our bows. But maybe we should involve Condron and Maziang anyway? The three Weyrs working together would send a strong message to the other Weyrs."

"This is about defending dragons world wide Harry. If we do nothing, then we open ourselves up to attack from everywhere," Ronan said firmly. "Maziang and Condron have a right to be there. Why not explain what is going on and ask if they would like to help. A Wing from each Weyr couldn't hurt."

"Any other ideas?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said, "Combine the ideas, first give them a blast of dragon fire, then stun anyone that didn't run and hide."

After a moment of additional silence Harry nodded. "I think the double assault is probably the best way of ensuring no injuries. We'll break into three groups. The first, consisting of unmanned wings will make a flaming pass. We might be able to chase them all below decks if they make enough noise before they blast the ship. Then the second group of manned wings will swoop down and sweep the deck, stunning anything that moves. Finally another wing will land and grab the ship for transport while the second group covers them."

Harry looked around and noted the expressions of grim determination. They had a plan now that they could work with.

"Cheki, please inform Menth, Lokith and Jekrith that I need to see them tomorrow for an emergency meeting," he said.

"_Yes Harry."_

He turned to Draco who was sitting next to Michelle. "We're going to need a full load out of stunning bolts Draco, organize the riders that can enchant and fill our bandoliers," Harry said. Each bandolier carried forty bolts of which usually only twenty were enchanted with stunners. Harry was asking for a complete replacement of the other twenty bolts.

Draco nodded and shot him a thumbs up. He didn't feel as out of place as he once did thanks to Michelle, plus Harry had given him the job of bow training for all of the new wings. He was also now working with Remus and Sirius on the Weyr's magical security, studying wards of all kinds.

Harry turned Hagrid who he had specifically asked to return to the Weyr for this meeting. "Hagrid, I'm going to need you here at the infirmary. You've seen what a gunshot can do. We must be ready to deal with multiple injuries and pray that doesn't happen."

Hagrid nodded grimly.

"Alice?" he called.

Alice Wagner looked up from her seat, surprised to be singled out. She was the third most proficient dragon healer behind May and Hagrid. "Yes?"

"I want you to remain here to help Hagrid. May will set up with us when we fly out to the Illustrious," he said, then he turned to May. "Pick someone to help you. I want you standing ready nearby if we have injuries that can't make the jump back to the Weyr. You and your helper will not participate in the attack."

May blinked and looked a little relieved. "All right Harry, I'll get Katie Bell to help," she replied. She knew she wasn't dealing with Harry, her lover, but with the Weyrleader who was putting her where she could do the most good.

Katie Bell looked up at hearing her name and nodded to May.

"Issac, I don't need to tell you that you may have injuries to deal with," Harry said, turning to the next person he needed to talk to.

"No Harry, but I want to see all of the Maziang riders before they participate. I can get the medical records from Condron on blood types and such, but no such records exist for Maziang," Issac replied.

Harry nodded and made a note in his book, then he looked up at Issac, "Would it help if we asked Madam Pomfrey to be here? Just as a precaution?"

Issac nodded and looked grateful that Harry suggested it. He knew Madam Pomfrey's healing skills would be a big help if they had serious injuries.

Harry glanced around one more time. "Check your harnesses and your riding gear. Make sure your kits are fully stocked. Anyone that thinks they need more range time, see Draco and he'll get you scheduled in."

He stepped away from the front of the hall and made his way to the exit. As he left the riders glanced around and their expression grew determined. It was finally sinking in, the Weyr's very existence was at stake here and each and every rider understood they they must do their part to protect their dragons and their Weyr.

The Weyr was preparing for battle.

* * *

**Author's notes and Mockeries:**

- To everyone expressing their condolences, thank you. This has been a difficult time and your support and prayers were a comfort.

- Finally to those that seemed to think that the passing of my father influenced the passing of Albus Dumbledore, well I hate to burst your bubble. This story was completed and in the "can" roughly a week before I had to leave for New Jersey. Albus was already dead by then.

- Because this story is complete, I can firmly state this story will end with chapter 19 and the big reveal to the world.

- The follow up story to this is already in progress and tentatively entitled "Dragon Storm". Unlike the previous stories Dragon Storm will cover YEARS of time. The smart ones of you can find there are some clues to Dragon Storm in The Queen who Fell to Earth. Remus' book offers just a few of the highlights we'll in a story that will cover more than a decade of time.

_**There will be a rough gap of three months or so from the final chapter of Wings to the first published chapter of Dragon Storm. I want to have at least ten chapters completed before I start publishing anything and right now Dragon Storm is barely 110 pages long (roughly three chapters).**_

Now that I caught everyone attention with that statement, I'll add that bugging me during those three months won't get me to publish early. So please don't try. :)

- Several wanted to know about the fight between the McGonagall sisters. It's not really necessary to know exactly about it. Just know that they have been fighting like any other family that can take things to obscene extremes.

- At first I wasn't about to comment about the people complaining about how much time it took for them to read this story, or the fact that they read both this and the prequel in a single sitting. I mean really, between the two there are 600K words and this story isn't complete. Do you honestly think this can be read in a single sitting?

- Those that expressed the depth of emotion they felt in reading the last chapter, thank you. It says I succeeded in what I wanted to accomplish. Dumbledore is often bashed in fan fiction, heck, I'm guilty of that myself. But there is no bashing in this story at all. I wanted Dumbledore to be more human, and more loveable than he was in canon. To hear that chapter 16 moved some to tears says I accomplished just that. Albus will be missed, and for once, not hated.

- Carlos the Gerbil is out of the Wings story but by no means out of the storyline. Sometimes a villain has a bit role to play and sometimes he has a major one. In Wings he was always a bit player. The Gerbil will return in Dragon Storm.

- And now for the recommendation for this chapter. It comes from a favorite author of mine. KB0 enjoys bucking the anti-Ginny trend by writing Harry/Ginny and he succeeds with a mix of compelling writing and making a believable Ginny. In this particular fare he decided to explore a Christmas tale, albeit more serious that the one I wrote. (And if you don't know about my Christmas tale, check my profile.)

**Harry's Happy Christmas** by **KB0**  
StoryID: **8830812**

Give it a chance, it's a unique take, a book 7 alternative. If you like it, let the author know.


	18. Chapter 18

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Bob walked over and sat at Alyx's desk and started to cackle maniacally. He looked up at the audience who was watching him intently and he grinned. "I know, this is Alyx's computer, the source of her writing, her holy of holies. But as you might have noticed, she's not here. She's... ah... occupied at the moment, which allows me to do this!"

Bob's fingers danced over Alyx's keyboard, calling up the appropriate file. He began to type feverishly.

"Slobnovia, long neglected by the dashing Prince Draco who was still on his world wide hunt for a replacement Who who, has been sold to Poland for two cans of coffee and a pack of cigarettes by Dark Lord Dumbledore," Bob muttered, then he started to cackle again. "The plucky Princess Hermione has retreated with the rest of the rebel alliance to a remote moon, err... island off the coast of Slobnovia!"

From one of the side wings a voice could be heard shouting. "Goddammit Bob unlock this closet door and let me out of here or you're in so much trouble."

Bob frowned and glanced nervously towards the closet. The forty two locks appeared undisturbed, so did the steel reinforcing bar and concrete barrier holding the door closed. Satisfied he continued to type. "Meanwhile, the dashing Harry Potter has recovered the amputated Who who from cryo-statis and has placed it on sale at Ebay after disguising it by tattooing a dancing hippo on it."

A sound drew Bob's attention and he looked towards the closet again. Sparks were flying from the door! Alyx was using the acetylene torch she always carried in her back pocket in case of emergencies! She was cutting her way free!

"Damn, I need more time!" Bob muttered to himself. "Draco and Snape meanwhile had been kidnapped while attending a Rio Mardi Gras. Unfortunately for our two heroes, they were kidnapped by different people. Draco had been taken by a group of amazon women who needed a eunuch for heavy labor, while Snape had been taken by a crazed Donkey owner looking for someone to play stud to his donkey."

Bob glanced over at the closet, Alyx was cutting through the steel retaining bar!

Bob turned and faced the audience. "Ummm I have to leave now. Enjoy the rest of the chapter while I ummm go to an appointment I have. Yeah, that's it. I have an appointment. Oh and if you think we own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern you're even nuttier than I am."

Bob hit save and dashed away from the computer. A moment later the closet door exploded outward and Alyx dashed onto the stage. "Where is he?" she ground out.

The audience, in terror, unanimously pointed in the direction Bob had run. Alyx growled and dashed off stage. In the distance Bob could be heard screaming, "You traitors!"

"_Harry?"_

"Yes Cheki?"

"_Will she kill him this time?" _

"Nah, he'll be back for next chapter I'm sure," Harry replied. "Now, lets watch the chapter, this is one of the good parts."

* * *

**In war there is no second prize for the runner up.  
- General Omar N. Bradley**

**Hangar Seven, Dragon Infirmary, July 16th...**

Harry quietly closed the door behind him and looked around the large interior area. It was past midnight and he didn't want to wake anyone if he could avoid it. Most of the stalls were empty, but here and there a dragon lay in a stall.

The last three days had been a hellish nightmare of training for everyone. Up at dawn and training until dusk with only a few short rest breaks. Tomorrow the Weyr would fly out to the HMS Illustrious to await their meeting with Mu and his band of terrorists. But for tonight the Weyr slept uneasily.

Megan Haas looked up from the central desk in curiosity when she heard the door open. "Harry?" she said softly and started to stand. She was one of the group of people that were training under Hagrid and May. On the desk was a stack of x-ray images and what looked like a sketch pad. When Lornth was injured they had brought in a portable x-ray machine and had taken over forty overlapping pictures just to get one wing x-rayed. It appeared she was busy working with those same images.

He lifted a hand and waved her back to her chair. "Don't get up. I'm just a little restless, so I thought I'd drop in here and see if everything is all right."

Megan relaxed a little, she was from the second hatching and had in fact been one of the people that questioned why he was in charge and not some older rider. "We're fine, everything is quiet tonight. We've stocked up on pain relief potions and have made several fresh tubs of the bandage paste. Hagrid went off to bed about an hour ago."

He nodded absently and peered at the sketch pad on her desk. "What are you drawing?"

She held up the pad, it was a drawing of the skeletal structure of a dragon wing. "You know the dragons didn't like us using names of bat parts?"

He nodded and smiled. "Yes I remember. Lornth was most put out about it, he wasn't the only one that seemed insulted by it."

Megan giggled softly, the dragon's reaction to the use of bat names had swept through the Weyr and only ended after May promised Chekiath that they would find new, better names.

"Well May had an idea that maybe I could come up with a better set of names. My father is a wildlife biologist, so I sent him the x-rays. He sent me back a new set of names. I've been drawing the wings and labeling everything so that I can present it to the class for everyone to look over."

Harry bent slightly and examined the drawing which was quite good, then he straightened. "So many things to learn," he said to himself, not realizing that he had spoken aloud.

"But that's the exciting part, its all new and we're the first ones to do this," Megan countered eagerly. It was impossible to miss the excitement in her voice.

Harry smiled, "Yes that is very true. I'll let you work on your studies. I think I'll just walk around a bit."

Harry turned and walked off, leaving Megan watching him a bit worriedly. The last week had been grueling for the Weyr and no one had worked themselves harder than Harry had. They had practiced numerous times on unsuspecting shipping in the Irish sea, lining up overhead and popping out in bow range all the while relying on the dragons ability to remain unseen.

Harry had been there for every minute, even when the wings from Condron and Maziang joined up with theirs. Maziang's riders needed extra help with their bow accuracy and Harry had personally spent many hours at the Weyr firing range helping them improve their skills.

He had allowed only one wing from each of the other Weyrs to join them in this effort. Too many dragons and there might not be enough room on the ship for them.

Megan watched him walk away and shook her head. Harry looked older tonight and more care worn, but he walked with a confidence that was felt by everyone in the Weyr. _Things will get better,_ she thought, _once we're past this coming fight. I can't believe I ever questioned him!_

Harry saw the dragon he was approaching was awake and watching him.

"Hello Lornth," Harry said warmly. The entire Weyr had been afraid they were going to lose him, but May and her father had pulled off miracle for this dragon and her Weyr. Lornth's wings were carefully attached to a metal framework. Overhead cables attached to pulleys and counterweights connected to the frame and allowed the healers to adjust the wings for the dragon.

It had taken May a full day and the help of her father to come up with a way to splint Lornth's massive wings. Normally he would have been in a regular stall, but given his injuries, the partitions between the stalls had been removed so that May's father could install the framework that help Lornth's wings in place. Once he was able to retract his wings, they would return his stall to a normal size.

Steel rods had been clamped to Lornth's wings with locking joints in-between each rod. The elves had assembled a scaffold that allowed her to reach the wings and carefully cut the wing sails enough to allow a clamp to be threaded through the slit and attached to the steel rods. Each clamp had been treated so that it wouldn't stick to the skin and then packed with the bandage paste to protect the wound. It was delicate work that only she could do. As much as Hagrid tried to help, his hands were just too big for the fine manipulation needed.

Lornth lifted his head and looked at Harry. _"Good evening Weyrleader."_

Harry looked at the strange contraption that held the dragon's wings immobile. He had been badly injured at the Hogsmeade school and no one knew yet if he'd be able to fly again. "That doesn't look very comfortable," he said softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Lornth looked at one wing, then turned back to Harry. _"The Weyrhealers are a big help, and the elves are helping as much as possible. The pain is not to bad and Megan takes good care of me at night. But no one knows if I will ever be able to fly again," _Lornth finished with a touch of sadness and other emotions in his voice.

Harry closed his eyes in sympathy and nodded, it was impossible to ignore the fear in the dragon's voice. May had been keeping him up to date on Lornth's condition. Next month it was planned to bring in a portable x-ray machine again to check his wings to see how well the breaks were healing. "Even if that turns out to be the case, you will always have a place of honor here Lornth. In fact, I heard from Headmistress Early. A group of students have been pestering her about coming to visit you. Would you like that?"

Lornth lifted her head and looked at Harry, his eyes slowly started twirl with streaks of green. Harry absently reached out and scratched his eye ridges. Lornth thrummed softly with pleasure. _"I would like that very much Weyrleader. Sometimes it does get lonely here,"_ he admitted.

Harry smiled. "I will email Headmistress Early about setting it up for sometime after we go public. In the meantime Sir Robert tells me that we will receive some more dragon book readers next week. Would you like us to install one here for you?"

"_Thank you Weyrleader, that would be very nice. You honor me with your caring."_

Harry blushed and was about to speak when another voice spoke from behind him. "The Weyrleader sees us all as his family Lornth. He cares what happens to each of us."

Harry turned to see May standing there. She shot him a quick glare and he winced slightly. "I'll let Sir Robert know that you get one of the readers Lornth. I guess right now my Weyrhealer wants to have words with me," Harry said to the dragon.

Lornth rumbled softly. _"She is just worried about you. Do not be too angry with her Weyrleader. Good night Weyrleader, Weyrhealer May."_

Harry peered at May. "How much trouble am I in?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Hang on a second, I need to tell Trath I found you. She'll call Hermione back, she's checking your office and the Administration building."

She went silent for a moment, then she turned her attention back to him and held out a hand. "You have developed a unique ability of climbing out of a bed without waking the other two people in it. Why didn't you wake us?"

Harry shrugged. "You needed your sleep."

"So do you," she countered in exasperation.

He shrugged again. "I tried, but I was too restless. I kept thinking about tomorrow, trying to think of ways to make it safer for us. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd check around and see if everything was set for tomorrow."

"You mean set for today love, today. Hermione is picking you up a light sleeping potion for the rest of the night, next time say something Harry," she gently scolded. "We both woke up looking for you and got worried. The only reason why we weren't in a panic is Chekiath seemed unconcerned."

May lead Harry out of the hangar, back towards their quarters. "Will Lornth fly again?" he asked.

May was silent for a moment. "Maybe," she said finally. "Once his bones are healed, the wings will be dreadfully weak. We'll probably spend months helping him regain his strength. None of the joints were damaged and we think the frame is doing a good job in holding the bones in place so they heal straight or mostly straight."

She paused mid-step and he turned to face her. "Lornth hasn't had a lot of visitors so your visit tonight was special to him. It is so hard for the non-bonded dragons in the infirmary, they have no one like the bonded dragons. I know that we should be in bed, but you really helped Lornth tonight."

Harry looked embarrassed, he shrugged helplessly. "No one likes to be alone when they are hurting," he said finally.

May peered at him, she knew him well enough now to know he was saying a lot more than just commenting on Lornth's situation.

He tugged on her hand lightly and they fell into step again. "I promised Lornth that we'd install a reading machine in his stall. We're supposed to be getting some more of those machines in a week or so."

She nodded. The machine was fairly simple, a huge projection system with a small computer embedded inside and a pressure sensitive pad that controlled a menu. The unit connected to the Weyr network where it could access a steadily growing library of books they were purchasing. The control pad was small enough that Lornth wouldn't have to move around, it could be positioned right under his feet. It was large enough that he could step on a control pad or push it with his snout.

Each unit was hand made and expensive, but the Weyr was able to easily afford them now.

"That will be a help," she replied, then she looked up and smiled. "There's Hermione."

Hermione stood on the stoop leading to their quarters, she held a potion bottle in one hand.

Harry decided to opt for the cowards way out. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, then he reached for the bottle she was offering him.

Her expression softened slightly. "We know you're worried about what's going to happen. But we need you at your best. You can't be that if you're exhausted from lack of sleep."

He nodded. "I know," he said with a sigh, then he gave them both a worried grin. "So let's go back to bed and let tomorrow come on it's own."

**The English Channel on board the HMS Illustrious, July 17th...**

James Mills looked around feeling decidedly out of place. The notice had come just five days earlier that his commission had been reactivated for the duration of this operation and while he was proud to serve, his old uniform didn't fit as well as it used to.

To add to his discomfort it was his first time on duty on board an aircraft carrier. His previous blue water duty stations had been on board a destroyer and an ice breaker. Comparatively speaking, those were rowboats compared to the Illustrious, and she wasn't as large as some aircraft carriers.

"Captain on the bridge!"

Several enlisted men and officers stiffened, including James.

"As you were," said the captain. "Status commander?"

A man looked up from the plotting table. "Sir, we're steaming east at 18 knots. We linked up with the Argyll, and the Kent about a half hour ago. The London and the Cornwall will be here within the hour. As ordered we're to hold just south of Dover to await further friendly units. We'll be in position in about twenty minutes."

The captain remained silent for a moment, then he glanced out the window. In the distance he could see the two newer type 23 frigates steaming close in. He smiled when he saw both ships had their lynx helos spooling up on the aft flight decks, no doubt to use their time to run ASW drills. "Very well. No change to orders commander."

A lieutenant motioned towards James and he stepped forward. The captain nodded to the lieutenant who glanced down at the papers in his hands before speaking. "Sir, Commander Mills, is reporting for temporary assignment," said the lieutenant. "He arrived this morning via helicopter."

The captain eyed James who saluted, then offered the captain his official orders. The captain grunted and read the message with an unhappy expression. "Come with me," he said tersely, then he lead James to his personal office one deck below the bridge.

The captain waited until his steward had closed the door on the two of them before he turned on James.

"What the blazes is this Mills? First we get orders to the channel, diverting us from our previously planned deployment, I find myself senior officer of an ad hoc task force consisting of the Lusty and four frigates. Now you come aboard with orders saying you'll provide additional briefing and this is all classified right up there with the size and color of the Queen's nickers!"

Captain Brent Jackson blew a heavy breath, then he motioned to James to sit. "I know this isn't your fault commander, but you have to admit it's damn unsettling. We were due to provide air support for NATO operations in Bosnia and now this? And just what is a 'Special Aviation Detachment' from an Allied Nation?" he said in an exasperated tone.

James fought to hide the smile at the term invented by the Admiralty for the Weyr. "Sir, if I may, in a little over twelve hours time, your task force will attempt to intercept a hostile force of heavily armed terrorists who intend to land on our shores.

"You already know this, I'm sure Admiral Slater sent you the briefing notes on the subject. You'll also note that your orders specifically state that if the terrorists fight back you are to back off. I am here as liaison between the Royal Navy, in this case, you and your ships sir, and a detachment of friendly forces who will become involved only if the terrorists resist your attempt to take them into custody.

"At the end of this mission, you and your task force will continue to your duty station in the Adriatic Sea, stopping at Gibraltar to pick up dispatches and any missed supplies which will be flown there to meet up with you. I know your questioning Admiral Slater's choice of course and the fact that it will add a number of days to your journey."

"Days? It'll take us two bloody weeks to follow his planned course," growled Jackson. It was highly unusual for the office of the First Sea Lord to issue a detailed course. Usually the Captain had the ability to select his own course and the Admiralty merely told him what his destination was. Jackson knew that he'd need to refuel at Gibraltar just to continue on to the Adriatic sea.

James nodded. "I know sir, but by the time you reach Gibraltar the 'Special Aviation Detachment' will become public knowledge, although you must stress to your men that no one must ever know of their participation in this operation."

Jackson eyed the reservist carefully. He had his orders and part of those orders included cooperating with this officer.

"Alright, what can you tell me about this 'Special Aviation Detachment'?" demanded Jackson a bit put out by all this cloak and dagger stuff. "Will they require refueling or other support services? Are they bringing their own ordnance or will we be supplying it?"

James leaned back in his chair and relaxed slightly. He knew the Captain was coming to grips with his orders. "No sir, they will not require fuel or any of your mechanics. The personnel involved in the detachment are all quite young, in many cases younger than anyone aboard this ship. However their commanding officer has been awarded an Order of Saint Georges by her Majesty. He is considered to be a head of state, and he personally ran the operation that resulted in the rescue of HMS Orkney and her crew," he said, then he glanced at his watch. "The first wing isn't due to arrive for another two hours."

Jackson blinked, most of the crew of the Orkney had been saved. If this special group was involved in that then they were worth respecting. One thing however worried him. "Head of state?" he repeated worriedly, envisioning having to roll out the red carpet.

"He's here to help us do a job Captain, not to hold a white glove inspection and I think were you to ask him to hold such an inspection he'd be appalled at the idea. He is a rather modest individual who tends to downplay his accomplishments."

"All right, but this bit about backing off if these terrorists refuse to surrender," protested Jackson, that particular part of his orders really bothered him.

Mills sighed and nodded in agreement. "Captain, if I had my way you would stand off and bomb that scow to pieces. But its rather hard to hide that sort of action in these waters. That tub is carrying nearly one hundred heavily armed people, a great many are former soviet army commandos. They might not win an engagement with us, but you can be sure they will make it a costly victory. Even if we stood off and fired a missile into her, what would we do with eighty heavily armed men in lifeboats? Or for that matter what if they called for help?

"The two men we caught at Heathrow were violent and lethal, a security guard was killed with a single blow. Now let me ask you, what would happen to your career and the reputation of the Royal Navy if it became public knowledge that we killed eighty Russian nationals aboard a Russian registered ship in international waters or even in our own territorial waters?"

Jackson winced. The answer to that would be simple, he'd be cashiered immediately and the Navy would take years to recover it's honor. Parliament and the public would be out for blood and no one would be safe, not even the Prime Minister. Such a disaster could bring down the government ahead of the scheduled elections.

"And your Special Aviation Detachment?"

"Has capabilities beyond ours. If needed they will subdue the terrorists and relocate them to a place where there are two regiments of Royal Marines waiting to round them up. The ship will have vanished off of any traffic radar without a trace. It will be duly investigated by her Majesty's Coast Guard and reported that she went down with a loss of all hands. So very tragic," James said with a small smile that signaled his true feelings.

Jackson smiled broadly. The idea of terrorists being dealt with and without evoking public outrage appealed to him. "Quite so."

"Very well Commander, I'll take you down to where you can talk to our tower and landing systems officers and let them know what frequencies your detachment will be using," Jackson said.

Mills winced and then explained that the unit didn't have radios, radar transponders or any other standard avionics. Jackson stared at the man and wondered if it were too late to toss him in the brig and pretend he never received Admiral Slater's orders. Who ever heard of any military aircraft that carried no radios?

Two hours later Captain Jackson was wondering if instead of tossing this reservist into the brig, he shouldn't be contacting the MOD about the sanity of the First Sea Lord, Admiral Slater. Twenty people appeared on his flight deck with no warning and even more disturbing, no aircraft!

"Captain, would you like to join me in welcoming your allies?" asked James. He was trying very hard to hide his amusement. The Captain was a solid, dependable individual who was about to have his reality knocked off kilter in a big way.

An alarm rang and the marine security detachment scrambled up from the bowels of the ship to deal with the intruders.

"Those are your special aviation detachment?" Jackson asked incredulously.

Mills nodded.

"Belay that security order," the Captain snapped.

"Marines, stand down," a voice announced on the ship-wide public address system.

Jackson blinked, the twenty people on the desk had just doubled, the people seeming to appear and drop from the sky from nothing. One moment they weren't there, the next moment they were landing lightly on his flight deck!

Jackson turned to a commander that stood nearby. "You have the bridge, I'll be on the flight deck," he ordered, then he gestured to Mills. "Come along Commander Mills, introduce me to our mystery allies."

After a short trip James found himself scurrying behind the Captain as deckhands and officers alike scurried to get out of the old man's way. It was obvious that the man was agitated and no one wanted to be in his way. Mills couldn't blame the man, the Navy thrived on order and a regimented lifestyle. Since James had arrived via helicopter early this morning, he had been chipping away at the man's world with a powered jack hammer.

James caught up to the Captain just as they walked out onto the flight deck. A brisk breeze whipped at him and he grabbed onto his hat. "Captain, if you would follow me please?" he said loudly. Near one end of the flight deck a helicopter was spooling up for take off and it made quite a lot of noise.

He absently noted Harry and the others watching the helicopter preparing to take off. He assumed they were waiting to bring in the next wing after the helicopter was airborne and out of the way.

"Harry!" shouted James, then he waved.

Harry looked over towards James and nodded, then he turned and said something to Ronan who grinned back at him. Satisfied that Ronan could handle the incoming wings, he walked over to where James stood with an unknown officer.

"James, we're bringing in the rest of the manned wings just as soon as that helicopter moves off. We don't need any accidents," Harry shouted.

James smiled and waved Captain Jackson closer. "Why are the dragons disillusioned?"

Harry glanced around and then he grinned sheepishly. "Two reasons, they weren't sure if they could be seen, I wasn't sure what to tell them, and they aren't very comfortable on a moving ship."

"Well it's safe to be seen," James replied, returning Harry's grin. He had been getting strange looks from the Captain all morning and now he was finally going to get to enjoy watching the man meet dragons for the first time.

Harry nodded. "I'll pass the word along."

James turned to Captain Jackson. "Captain, this is Weyrleader Harry Potter, leader of the special aviation detachment and a personal friend of the crown."

Captain Jackson looked at Harry in surprise, then he turned to James. He was about to tear into the man when another voice broke his train of thought.

"'ello sweetcheeks, whatcha all dolled up for?"

Jackson looked up to see one of his pilots towering over one of Harry's people. The riders wore their standard flight gear which had a definite aviation cast to it. In fact the flight suits visible under their World War Two bomber jackets were very similar to what his pilots wore. More surprising to the Captain was the very obvious pistol grip crossbow and the bandolier the girl wore.

"You can't be part of that detachment they said we were getting. You're barely knee high. Kinda cute tho, if you're lonely darling, I can show you around the ship."

The man looked over at his mates who were having very mixed reactions to his actions. Most it seemed didn't approve of his behavior, the girl was obviously a lot younger than they were used to dealing with, except possibly as a parent.

Jackson scowled angrily, here was one of his pilots acting like an ass. He started to stride forward when Harry grabbed his arm. "Wait," Harry said in a commanding tone.

Luna Lovegood looked up at the pilot and smiled sweetly. "I'm afraid you're just not my type. If you're so fearful that you have to strap yourself into a metal contraption before you fly, then you're just not my type at all."

Several of the riders around her broke out in laughter and the pilot sputtered angrily. He considered himself a very suave lady's man and he wasn't about to take any flack from a snot nosed child, even if she was cute.

He took a half step forward and stopped immediately. Everyone heard that growl, even over the roar of the helicopter that was just lifting off. The pilot looked around and shivered as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Something very large made that noise and some primal instinct in the pilot screamed that something capable of growling like that had to have big teeth!

Trandieth shimmered into view. A moment later twenty one other dragons also became visible, along with the four wings orbiting overhead waiting to land. The dragon craned her long neck until she was just behind Luna and opened her mouth slightly revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Luna reached up on her toes and patted the pilot on the cheek. His gaze was firmly fixed on Trandieth and her rows of teeth. "Perhaps someday I'll try sampling other fliers, but right now I prefer the riders of my Weyr," she said, then she stepped back and lovingly caressed Trandieth's neck and ear. All of the dragons on the deck started rumbling with laughter and the pilot turned white as a sheet, then he bolted for the nearest entrance to below decks.

Harry chuckled and turned to James. "Luna is one of a kind and I wouldn't trade her for any other rider."

James smiled and nodded. He had been on the receiving end of that young witch's attitude on several occasions. The navy pilot couldn't have picked on a worse person to pick on.

"_Harry, the other wings still need to land,"_ Chekiath announced.

"Ronan will see to it Cheki, right now we need to talk to the Captain," Harry said and then he turned back to Captain Jackson. The man was staring bug eyed at Chekiath who stood nearby. Wing Three's dragons lifted off and found themselves places to settle all along the ship's superstructure. As soon as they settled down, two more wings landed and dismounted.

James looked a little alarmed at the number of dragons settling on any spot they could find.

"Don't worry, they know to keep off anything moving," Harry said with a chuckle. "Is there some place where my riders can assemble and wait? Perhaps get something hot to drink?"

"Yes, the main galley," Jackson said absently. He was still staring at Chekiath who was as at least long as two harriers put together! He shivered and wondered if they ate people.

"_You don't have to fear us,"_ Chekiath said, turning to look at the startled Jackson. _"I can't really read your mind, but I can tell you find me frightening. We really are here to help."_

"My god," muttered Jackson in awe.

"Captain Jackson, allow me to introduce my bonded dragon Chekiath," Harry said. "As you can see our dragons are telepathic to a limited degree, they can sense your emotions and are keen judges of character, but they cannot read your mind."

"And... and you fly these dragons?" the Captain asked incredulously.

Harry smiled broadly. "Flying on dragonback is a truly novel experience. With their ability to go Between, I could have you in Japan in less than two minutes. But do not mistake them for beasts. They might not be able to use machinery like we do, but they are every bit as intelligent and self aware as we are."

"_We have never been on a boat before,"_ Chekiath said. _"The rocking motion is a bit unsettling. The ground under our feet isn't supposed to rock so." _The large dragon's eyes twirled with a hypnotic streak of yellow signaling the dragons discomfort.

Jackson shook himself from his shock and turned to Mills, "Commander, would you escort these people to the main galley?"

Mills nodded and waved towards mass of riders who stood nearby. All the riders were down and now the unmanned wings were landing on anything they could. "Follow me and I'll take you below to the galley, we'll wait there."

Harry stood with the Captain, watching his people follow James. When the last of them vanished into the island, he turned back to the Captain. "I know you have questions still. I would be happy to explain further. But I would appreciate if you could announce to your crew that the dragons won't harm them. People just need to talk to them as they would to each other. The dragons can speak to you, and your crew telepathically."

Jackson nodded, then his eyes widened. A dozen heavily armed marines were exiting a doorway on the island. "Stand down!" he shouted to their surprise.

Jackson strode up to an officer who was staring at Chekiath and nervously fingering the holster to his sidearm. "Lieutenant, where is your commanding officer?"

The marine lieutenant was newly assigned to the ship and unused to speaking to the commanding officer. "Below deck sir, mustering the rest of the company," he stammered, then he belatedly remembered to salute.

"Send someone below and tell him that I order him to stand down his unit until I say so," growled Jackson.

The lieutenant paled and swallowed nervously. Chekiath had followed Harry who had followed the Captain. "Yes sir," he replied, then he gestured to one of his men who gladly scrambled away from the dragons.

Harry shook his head, Chekiath was releasing puffs of smoke from his nostrils and rumbling with laughter. The problem was, as a rider, he knew it was laughter, but the others didn't.

Jackson waited for a moment, watching as the men unloaded their weapons and shouldered them, then he turned to Harry. "I see what you mean, if you'll follow me..." his brow furrowed. "What do I call you anyway?"

Harry shrugged. "If you want to be formal, Weyrleader is my title, but I prefer to go by Harry," he replied with a slight grin. He was finding it hard to suppress the amusement he felt from the dragons.

"Weyrleader," the Captain said, recalling what Mills had told him about Harry's status. "If you'll follow me, we'll go up to the bridge where I'll address the crew."

Harry nodded. "Lead the way, I'm rather eager to see more of your ship. I've never been on an aircraft carrier or any ship before."

Five hours later Harry watched quietly from the the bridge of the HMS Illustrious. It was dark and the ship was darkened so that they couldn't be easily spotted. Since their prey had no sophisticated electronics at all was decided that the little fleet would continue to operate their radars as normal. According to intelligence reports the Sea Pearl boasted a standard maritime radio and an old, very simple radar system from the mid sixties. Jamming that radar would make it appear as if it were malfunctioning.

A chime rang in the darkened room and then a voice came over an overhead speaker. "Bridge, Lookout Two One reports contact, one hundred twelve miles, course two three nine, speed ten knots. Positional fix, chart sixty two, grid A4". Lookout Two One was part of the group of search aircraft that had been launched from mainland bases an hour earlier.

Harry stepped away from the deck wall he had been leaning against and watched Jackson's number two man unroll a chart on the map table. He quickly located the reported position and pointed it out to Jackson.

"Excellent. He's roughly fifteen miles off the coast of Holland and still following the coast. It looks like he still intends to make a straight in approach to Kingsdown like we were told," Jackson said. "Make your course zero five zero and set speed to twenty. We'll catch her at West Hinder, that will put all of us off all of the coastal traffic radars," the Captain commanded.

Jackson turned to Harry, "We'll be on station in about an hour, but I don't expect our prey to be anywhere nearby for another three hours after that. Why don't you go below and get something to eat?"

Harry nodded and the Captain turned to an ensign. "Take the Weyrleader to the galley where his people are."

Jackson watched Harry leave and shook his head. He had never run across an experience like this before in all of his nearly thirty years in the navy. His ship was covered in intelligent dragons that had capabilities he could only wish his aircraft had. And they were led by children who didn't act like children. They acted like his pilots, dedicated, and very serious about their jobs. This was the strangest mission he had ever been given by the Navy.

**On board the Sea Pearl, July 17th...**

Jin Tan Mu sipped at the sour liquid these Russians called tea and made a face. It was foul stuff. He glanced at a wall clock and noted the time, nearly midnight and they were still four hours from their destination. It would be close, they wouldn't have much time to unload before dawn arrived.

"Is everything ready?" he asked.

Mishka, one of Janus' men nodded. "Da comrade Colonel. The men are sleeping now except for the crew and eight men on sentry. We'll wake them at two hundred and start bringing the supplies up on deck."

Mu nodded, they were very close to their destination and soon they would be loading their gear on trucks for the drive up to Campbeltown. He had no idea that a nationwide manhunt had been going on to find Janus and his men or that Kingsdown was currently hosting a British Army field exercise for the first time since World War II.

Janus was a canny individual who had enough experience to suspect something was wrong as soon as his two men failed to meet at the prearranged spot. The British might be looking for him, but he and his fellows quickly headed for the nearest channel ferry to leave Britain. Since then he had been trying, and failing to contact Mu using his mobile phone. Russian telecommunications companies were still struggling to provide nationwide coverage let alone Europe.

After several days of trying Janus did the pragmatic thing. He gave up trying to contact his people and decided to disappear again. He still had eight good men and plenty of contacts. He could rebuild his organization. It was time to cut his losses.

"Tell the men on watch to keep an eye out we are coming close to the British mainland and we don't want any surprises."

"Da Comrade Colonel," replied Mishka.

**On board the HMS Illustrious, July 18th...**

"Steady as she goes commander," ordered Jackson. His first officer was carefully maneuvering the Lusty and the four frigates so that the Sea Pearl would be in the center of their formation. They were still over ten miles from the freighter.

The small fleet had slipped in behind the Sea Pearl and then split up so that the old freighter would find itself _inside_ their formation.

"All units are nearly in place sir, another minute and we'll be ready to intercept."

Jackson glanced at the plot for a moment, then he turned to an ensign. "Contact Commander Mills and inform him to have his people stand to. Commander, you may engage when ready."

The Captain settled into a chair and watched as the activity on the bridge went up a notch.

"Signal to fleet, all units converge. Sound action stations, surface action starboard! Increase speed to twenty eight knots," ordered the first officer.

An alarm bell rang throughout the ship and someone called the ship to action stations over the loudspeakers. On the flight deck four Lynx helicopters lifted off. A Sea King rescue helicopter was already standing by in case it was needed.

The deck plating vibrated as the engine speed increased and the ship heeled to one side as they radically altered their direction. Jackson glanced out a window down to the flight deck. The dragons were flying from their perches to assume positions on the deck. Their eyes reflected whatever dim light they could pick up, it was the only real indication he had that the dragons were there. Jackson knew that right now those teens were climbing onto the backs of those great creatures and he shuddered at the thought. A former pilot himself, he couldn't envision what it must be like to be unprotected on the back of a living being.

A tenseness filled the darkened room and Jackson waited in silence as the minutes ticked by. Whole wings of dragons lifted off simultaneously to his immense surprise. The dragons ability to know where it was in relation to the other dragons astounded him, as did this demonstration of that ability. It took less than four minutes to clear the deck of hundreds of dragons.

A door opened and James Mills stepped onto the bridge. "All dragon wings away sir. They'll take up station at one thousand feet as we discussed," he said softly then he held up a small radio. It was one of Jackson's contributions, he had supplied Harry and James with the units so they could communicate. "The Weyr's assembled a temporary aid station on the port side aft flight deck. Once you give the order, I'll contact the Weyrleader."

"Very good Commander, you may remain here and observe," replied Jackson.

The minutes ticked by slowly. Every so often a yeoman would call out the range. Finally he called out, "Range to target 2000 yards."

Jackson sat up in his chair and gave the plot one last look, then he turned to his first officer. "Commander, lights on, let them know we're here," he ordered. "Tell Kent and Argyll to put a shot across her bow."

"Aye sir, Comm signal that ship to cut it's engines and prepare to be boarded. Send to all ships, lights on and send in the helicopters. Tell Kent and Argyll to give her a warning shot."

The Illustrious was suddenly an island of blazing light in an otherwise darkened sea. A few miles away, Jackson could make out the four frigates of his little fleet also lit up and in between them, the darkened hulk of an old freighter, full of armed terrorists intent on attacking his country.

Multiple beams of search spotlights stabbed out from the navy ships, pinning the Sea Pearl perfectly. The old ship was caught in the bright lights and clearly visible.

A pair of Lynx helicopters made a low level pass over the Sea Pearl while another made a higher level pass, dropping flares attached to parachutes.

A young ensign watched the operation with a smile. "Sucks to be you wankers," he muttered.

Jackson turned and stared at the young officer and then he chuckled slightly. "It does indeed Mister Olsen."

**On board the Sea Pearl, July 18th...**

Jin Tan Mu cringed as the deck lit up in a blaze of light. Two helicopters roared past the ship barely missing it and rattling the windows with the noise. At the same time the maritime radio came alive with orders cut their engines and prepared to be boarded. A surge of anger ran through him. They had been caught! He could not allow his mission to fail!

Someone on board rang a bell frantically and everyone scrambled to grab a weapon. Unfortunately most of the weapons were still packed away. They only had about forty automatic rifles readily available, the rest were still packed away along with all but a few boxes of ammunition.

"Send someone below deck to bring up the missiles!" he shouted, then he grabbed an AK-47 that was leaning against the bulkhead and stepped from the enclosed bridge. He opened fire on the nearest helicopter, but he knew that his lone weapon couldn't do much.

_If we can mass our fire, we may be able to hold them off,_ he thought desperately.

A lynx made another low pass and he fired at the helicopter as it did. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't alone, at least ten men were now shooting at the helicopters.

Two of the frigates, the Kent and the Argyll had closed the distance with the Sea Pearl and their main deck gun slewed around, aiming for a spot in front of the Sea Pearl. A bell rang on both ships and flame spat from the 4.5 inch guns. The water less than one hundred yards front of the Sea Pearl erupted in a spray of sea water.

The Pearl slowly turned as the Captain frantically tried to alter course. Another helicopter flew past, low and loud and it drew heavy fire from nearly twenty armed men. The helicopter raced away while the captain continued to try to change course. If he could only make it only a few miles south, he would be in the territorial waters of Holland and the British would have to back off! The sound of helicopters orbiting just out of gun range rattled the bridge windows almost as much as the sound of the gunfire futilely reaching out to them.

The radio blared again with orders for them to surrender. He reached out and snapped the radio off, he just needed time and no distractions!

Two men appeared on the foredeck carrying a long box between them. The captain watched anxiously as they un-boxed a shoulder fired missile. One man put the long tube to his shoulder and aimed upwards. The other man scurried out of the way.

The captain grinned when a rush of flame and smoke obscured the man. That would scare off the helicopters!

**On board the HMS Illustrious, July 18th...**

Captain Jackson's expression tightened when a missile launched from the foredeck of the Sea Pearl. It quickly closed on one of his Lynx helicopters, hitting it in the tail rotor. The crippled aircraft started spiraling into the water. He gripped his chair tightly in anger. "Launch the rescue helicopter and signal off the rest of the flight," he ordered tensely.

The Lynx hit the water with a tremendous splash. The flickering light from the overhead flares showed an eerie black and white image of the downed helicopter, the main blade, broken, but still turning for a moment longer, then a strange shape appeared and the aircraft was gone!

Jackson tore his eyes from the scene and turned to James. "It's your turn Commander," he said quietly.

James nodded grimly and lifted the small radio to speak into it.

Down on the flight deck May watched incredulously as a dragon gently deposited a heavily damaged helicopter about fifty feet from her position, then the dragon turned and landed on three paws. He moaned loudly and she shivered, then ran for the dragon with several of her helpers hot on her heels. She skidded to a stop in front of the dragon who was favoring one paw. The deck lighting was barely good enough to see something sticking more than a foot out of the dragon's leg.

"What is that?" she murmured, then she turned to Katie Bell. "Bring up the pain relief potion, then we'll figure out what we can do."

Katie dashed back to where May had placed their supplies and quickly grabbed two buckets of pain relief potion.

"_It hurts,"_ whined Cetath, _"I thought it would be safe to pick up the flying machine and the men inside, but it bit me with something!"_

"Blimey that's a part of a rotor blade!" someone said from behind her.

May turned to see a deck rating staring at the piece of helicopter main rotor blade sticking out of the dragon, then she turned back to look at the leg again. There was nearly a foot and a half of broken blade sticking out of the dragons leg, the piece was jagged and she guessed the length of the wound was at least a foot or more.

Katie ran up to Cetath, carrying two buckets. "Open wide Cetath," she said. The large Ironbelly eagerly allowed Katie to pour both buckets of potion down his throat. The dragons hated the taste of the potion, but greatly appreciated the effect it had.

May knelt by the leg and carefully looked things over. Even with the deck lighting, it was dark, too dark for her to see much. "Damn, I need more light," she complained. The ship was lit up, but it was night and the area was inside the shadow that Cetath cast on the deck.

Katie grimaced, she was under strict orders not to use any magic in front of the muggles. She looked around helplessly, unable to figure out how to provide the light needed without giving away her magical abilities.

A man who overhead May shouted some orders and a half a dozen men pushed a large cart over. One men bent next to a side panel and flipped some switches. A panel of lights lifted vertically from the cart and flooded the area in a blaze of light. It was a utility cart that the flight deck crews used at night and it illuminated the injury perfectly.

May nodded in thanks, then she donned a pair of leather gloves and gave the rotor a light touch, trying to see how tightly it was lodged in the dragon's leg. Judging from the exposed blade May estimated the wound was at least three inches deep. The rotor appeared to be wedged in tight and May doubted she would be able to pull it out.

Katie knelt next to May and watched. "This is going to bleed badly when this is pulled out," May said tensely to Katie.

"It can't stay in Cetath," Katie said. "We have to remove it and hope we can stop any bleeding."

May looked at Katie. "All right, lets do this. Get our kit and one of the buckets of bandage paste."

May leaned back on her heels and removed the leather gloves, she needed someone else to pull the metal out while she tried to do something she had never done before. Something no one had done before, operate on a dragon.

Katie nodded and ran back to where May had stored her supplies. Meanwhile May looked around at the men milling about watching the wounded dragon that had saved the helicopter crew. "Can any of you help? I'm going to need some muscle to remove this metal."

One man stepped forward and took the gloves from May. "I'll do it Miss," said the man.

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you. In a few minutes I'm going to want you to gently remove that metal. Try to pull it straight out without too much side motion. The dragon is on a pain reliever, and I'll be injecting the wound directly with a local pain relief drug once you have the metal out. Lets just try not to make it any worse."

The man nodded and knelt down not far from May. Katie ran back up carrying a box. May reached in and pulled out a towel and a large bottle of alcohol which she liberally poured on her hands. Katie watched her friend and bit her lip, both girls knew they were about to do something they had never done before. This was not a good place to be doing surgery and both girls knew it.

Katie helped May don surgical gloves, then she laid out their never used before surgical kit. She saw May looking at her and could see the determination, and the fear in her eyes.

The kit was the brainchild of both Doctor Shepard and May. Instead of regular sutures and needles, it contained tools more appropriate for a machinist's kit. Heavy surgical steel wire normally used to wire bone pieces in place, needle nose pliers, heavy steel needles used for stitching canvas and leather and wire cutters. It was an unused and untested kit that had been hastily assembled in the last week just in case May ran into a situation like this. No one had really expected it to be used during this trip and certainly not by May alone.

May paused and looked at Katie who knelt beside her. Katie gave her an encouraging smile. "You can do this May," she said firmly, "You're the only one of us that can."

May took a deep breath, then she nodded to the crewman. "Let's do this," she said reaching for a needle and the spool of wire.

**Above the Sea Pearl, July 18th...**

Harry watched as one of the non-bonded dragons swooped down and pulled the helicopter from the water. He absently noted the other helicopters exiting the area at high speed. They were under orders to withdraw if they spotted any missile fire.

"Illustrious to Wing one, it's your turn now Harry," crackled his radio.

"Understood Illustrious, we are beginning our run," he replied, then he stuffed the radio in a pocket.

"It's up to us now Chekiath. Is anyone ready?" he asked.

"_Everyone is in position Harry. We're ready."_

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. _"All right everyone, just like we planned, unmanned wings, __go!"_ He sent.

Five unmanned wings, one hundred dragons, folded their wings and broke formation, diving for the ship more than a thousand feet below. The plan was to make a high speed flaming pass, then circle back and make a second, slower speed pass, bathing the ship in fire hot enough to set any of the rigging and wooden fixtures on fire. Harry had decided that the dragons would use a modest amount of fire. They didn't want to burn the ship down to the waterline, or turn it into an everlasting glowing hulk.

It had also been decided that the principle issue was to reduce any chance of a dragon or rider getting injured. Injuries to the terrorists was not an issue that concerned anyone.

**On board the HMS Illustrious, July 18th...**

Jackson blinked and climbed out of his chair. One of the dragons had just deposited his damaged helicopter on the aft flight deck, then limped partway over to where the riders had set up their aid station. Already his deck hands were swarming over the damaged aircraft to get to the flight crew.

It wasn't possible to see the dragons in the air over the Sea Pearl, but even with the ever present shipboard noise it was impossible to miss the sound of one hundred dragons roaring in anger as they dove. The hairs along Jackson's arms and neck stood straight up, then the whole area lit up as the dragons flamed the ship.

"My god!" Jackson said in a strangled voice.

The dragons cleared the ship a few seconds later and they pumped their wings hard to gain altitude.

The Sea Pearl was smoking heavily, like so many of the older ships, the basic hull was a mix cast iron and steel and the deck was mostly wooden planking. The single pass of the dragons had set parts of that planking on fire. From his vantage point he could see men scurrying about on decking that was literally on fire. He watched dispassionately as two men plunged over the side in order to escape the flames. Both men had been ablaze.

Then suddenly out of no where, the dragons were back! They surrounded the ship and then let loose with another wave of fire, this time aiming for a spot just above the ship forming a curtain of fire and heat. The idea was to make the top decks of the ship too hot and the dragons were doing just that. Jackson thought he saw flashes of gunfire from one of the open hatchways, but he couldn't be certain.

Just as quickly as the dragons appeared, they were suddenly gone again. One dragon reappeared over the Illustrious and aimed for the the aft flight deck.

"Must be heading for their aid station," said Ensign Olsen. The young officer had moved away from his station at the plot table to watch the spectacle. It was only then that Jackson noted that most of his bridge crew were glued to the windows.

"Back to your stations!" he snapped and watched in satisfaction as they scurried back to work. He really couldn't blame them, this was warfare like none he had ever seen in his long career. He fervently prayed he'd never have to face a dragon as an enemy. Their ability to appear and vanish seriously unnerved him.

He watched his bridge crew for a moment longer, then he turned his attention to the battle unfolding less than a mile from his ship. The manned wings of dragon riders popped out of Between just above the deck and for a moment Jackson thought he was watching a scene from a science fiction movie. Bolts of red light streaked down from the dragons as the riders fired their stunning bolts into any open hatchway they could shoot down. As they fired, another two wings of non-bonded dragons landed on the Sea Pearl, grabbing railings, open doors, anything they could grip.

One of the dragons that was holding the ship suddenly released its grip and turned towards the Illustrious. Jackson watched it land near the others it was also favoring a paw. Shaking from the sight he turned back to the Sea Pearl. The manned dragons continued to fire their crossbows while the dragons used their fire to keep the terrorists pinned down inside the Sea Pearl's structure.

At some signal Jackson couldn't detect the assembled dragons started to lift the ship. It started slowly and quickly picked up speed as the mass of dragons lifted her. Jackson gasped as the large single screw became visible, still turning, then all of the visible dragons and the ship vanished from sight!

**On board the Sea Pearl, July 18th...**

Hermione appeared with her wing just about twenty feet from the port side of the ship. Comaloth, along with the other dragons roared and shot a long line of flame against the side of the ship. She wasn't aiming at anything in particular. It was a move Harry had decided upon in the hopes that fear would keep the terrorists inside the ship instead of confronting the riders on deck.

Hermione's eyes swept the deck looking for motion when suddenly she felt a sharp jerk on her head to the right. She lifted her bow instinctively and fired back at the muzzle flash. Comaloth roared and flamed the area with fire that was white hot. She heard an agonizing scream and then a figure dashed out of the open hatchway and hurtled over the side.

"_Hermione? Are you hurt?"_ Comaloth said, her voice laced with worry.

With trembling fingers she pulled off her glove and reached up to feel her head and neck. She didn't feel anything wet, nor did she feel any pain and she could move her head just fine. It took her a moment to realize that the bullet missed her. "I'm fine sweetheart, it was just close that's all," she replied, a bit in shock.

Comaloth pumped her wings and doubled the distance between her and the ship. She didn't want to risk her rider any further.

On the starboard side Jin Tan Mu cowered back from the opening as a gout of flame rushed in. He was having trouble coming to grips with the reality of the situation. One moment they were holding off the helicopters with the threat of shoulder fired missiles, then suddenly they were under attack by strange beasts breathing fire.

Dragons!

It was impossible, but even he recognized the creatures for what they appeared to be, fire breathing dragons. He shuddered back from the opening to the deck and gently leaned against the wall. The sleeve of his right arm was still smoking, but the fire was out and the pain wasn't too bad. He lifted the AK-47 with his left arm and fired a three round burst blindly through the doorway.

"Comrade Colonel, what are these things?" gasped one of his men. The man stood at the top of the stairway leading deeper into the ship and he clutched his automatic weapon like it could protect him from the dragons that roared in the skies over the ship.

He glanced at the man and gestured towards the opening. The man hefted his gun and fired off a long burst, emptying the clip. Ordinarily a well trained soldier would never fire a full clip in a single burst, but the man was seriously rattled by the dragons presence. A half dozen streaks of red lights flew through the opening and one struck the man in the chest. He glowed a bright red and fell backwards down the steps. His gun made a loud clatter as it bounced down the metal stairway.

Jin grimaced, he was alone now. He could hear the terrified cries of his men from various compartments, but he was alone in this passage. There was a loud flapping sound and the deck under his feet tilted sharply as the dragons on one side of the ship lifted before the others. The ship leveled off again and then there was total blackness and an intense bone chilling cold.

Jin Tan Mu thought he was losing his mind! It seemed to go on forever and then, just as he opened his mouth to scream, the sensation was gone, replaced by another, even more terrifying sensation. Impossibly, the ship was falling!

Jin Tan Mu screamed as he bounced hard against the roof of the passageway. His weapon swung wildly and it hit him in the head, momentarily stunning him. Then there was a tremendous crash and he cartwheeled down the steep stairway which was now canted at an impossible angle.

The Sea Pearl lay on it's side, the bottom hull plating pushed in. Inside the ship, Colonel Jin Tan Mu lay, his eyes roving wildly as his body breathed it's last breath. He had broken a number of bones in the landing including his neck. His mind dimly recognized the sound of heavy machine gun fire and shouted orders, then his vision faded and blackness engulfed him.

**On board the HMS Illustrious, July 18th...**

Search lights from Illustrious and the four frigates slewed wildly trying to reacquire the ship, but it was gone.

"Contact lost sir!" said the surprised radar operator.

"Relax," said a voice just over Jackson's shoulder. "This was part of the plan captain. They saved the Orkney in a similar manner."

Jackson turned and saw James grinning at him. "Right now that ship is being dropped from height on the island of Skula Sgeir, and there are fifteen hundred marines waiting to greet them."

Jackson smiled slowly, the idea of two regiments of marines ready and waiting for those people was something he greatly appreciated. His mind refused to consider the idea that the ship had been transported nearly a thousand miles away in a handful of seconds.

Turning back to the scene where the Sea Pearl had once been he spoke again. "Have the Sea King search for anyone in the water. I thought I saw at least two people jump over the side."

He didn't bother mentioning the men had been on fire at the time.

"Aye sir," replied the communications officer who then picked up a handset and spoke quietly into it.

Five dragons appeared overhead, near the aft flight deck and came to a gentle landing. From the bridge Jackson could see all five had riders that were dismounting.

"Harry probably sent the other wings back to the Weyr," James said, standing next to Jackson. "None of those dragons seem in distress. I bet he came back to check on the wounded dragons."

Jackson turned to Mills. "Well Commander, perhaps we best go find out what is going on. Number one, you have the ship, signal the task force to stand down from action stations."

Mills nodded and followed the captain while his second in command gave the orders to stow away weapons and return to normal stations.

Ten minutes later James found himself watching May carefully finish sealing the large wound on Cetath. On the deck a few feet away was a two and a half foot long piece of helicopter rotor blade covered in dragon blood. Cetath moaned softly despite the pain relieving potion.

Harry who was also watching nearby stepped up to the large dragon and placed a hand against his neck and concentrated. Cetath turned to look at Harry as the pain faded from him. "_Weyrleader?"_

Harry grimaced and continued to apply his power in an attempt to help dampen the dragon's pain. "I'm trying to help Cetath, don't fight so much," he said through gritted teeth. The more pain the dragon felt, the harder it was for Harry to dampen that pain because the dragon's innate magic was fighting against him.

James was alarmed when he noted Harry's hand shimmering but a quick glance around showed that everyone was concentrating on what May was doing with Katie's help. It had been long thought that surgery on a dragon was nearly impossible, but May had thought that stitching up wounds might be possible if they used a very heavy needle and surgical steel wire. And that was what she was doing, using a pair of pliers to pull the heavy needle and wire, slowly closing the gaping wound.

James edged closer towards Katie, "How will you remove the stitches without tearing the wound open?"

Katie glanced at him and shrugged. "There are two ways to do it, May intends to slice the stitches into pieces and remove them by pulling on each piece. The wire has a special coating on it that is supposed to keep the flesh from sticking to it. Or there's the other way," she said, then her eyes darted down to her wand holster and James nodded in understanding.

Finally May leaned back on her heels and pushed some hair out of her eyes, her hands trembled from the strain they had been under. "Katie, let's get that bandage paste on nice and thick. We'll give it a half hour to set, wrap it in blankets and then call in some help and the sling."

Katie picked up a large bucket of the bandage paste and started to apply it to the now closed wound.

Harry walked over and gently pulled May to her feet. "The sling and four lifters are already on their way. Are you all right?"

She nodded and pushed her hair out of her eyes with her wrist, "Pulling those sutures tight takes a lot of strength. If this is going to be a common procedure I'm going to have to work on building up the strength in my hands and wrists." It was impossible for her to hide the fact that her hands trembled from the strain they had just undergone.

"Katie, what about the other dragons?" she asked. While she had been busy, Katie had attended to the other two dragons that had gotten injured.

"Minor stuff May," Katie replied. "Kranth tore off a claw. Apparently wherever he gripped that ship, he pierced the iron and it tore out the claw. Painful but he's not in any danger. Nekenth has three bullet wounds to her tail. I'm not certain but I think at least one bullet is still in her tail. It's not a life threatening wound so I bandaged her up and sent her back to the Weyr and Hagrid. Kranth will be able to return to the Weyr in a few minutes, he's nearly done waiting for the paste to set."

May nodded tiredly and Harry led her over to where Chekiath sat. He glanced up at his dragon and without asking the dragon stretched out and laid down, offering a huge paw which Harry seated May on. Harry gently examined her hands which were still trembling from the strain. "You're tired. I want you to rest for a bit. I need to talk to James and then we'll go home," he said softly.

She nodded, her hands and wrists ached terribly, punching through the underlying dragon hide and pulling the metal wire through had been very hard work. Harry pat her on the shoulder and smiled, then he turned and walked over to where James stood watching Katie apply the bandage paste to Cetath's wound.

"You okay Harry?" James asked.

Harry nodded. "We got really lucky James, I haven't heard any reports of a rider injured so I think we're safe on that regard. Cetath was hurt the worst among the dragons."

"He saved that helicopter crew," James said. "It's a shame that he got hurt, but I don't think they would have survived otherwise."

Captain Jackson walked up to Mills. He had heard Mill's comment. "No, they wouldn't have survived," Jackson said. "My surgeon tells me that the pilot and co-pilot both have head injuries from the impact and are unconscious still. The aircraft would have sunk with them inside. We'll be airlifting them to a hospital in a little while. Your dragon risked serious injury to save my aircrew and I am deeply grateful for that Weyrleader. If I can I intend to express that opinion to Admiral Slater personally."

Harry nodded in acknowledgment, he was grateful for the captain's comments. "As fearsome as they might appear, the dragons really just want to be our partners. Cetath will be pleased to hear that his actions were appreciated. The dragons value human life as much as they value their own, knowing that they saved lives is important to them."

"Weyrleader," Jackson said hesitantly. He was looking at this young man through a totally new lens having seen the dragons in action. "If I may, what happened to the ship?"

Harry smiled grimly. "Our terrorist friends were taken to Skula Sgier. We dropped the ship on the island a good hundred yards or more from the shore. As soon as the dragons were clear, the marines were moving in to begin their assault. I don't think they will find much fight left in those people however. With a little luck I daresay the marines will have this affair wrapped up in short order."

"Oh?" pressed Jackson.

"Originally the plan was to drop the ship from about twenty feet," James said, then he turned and eyed Harry who smiled mischievously back at him. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Just how high were you?"

"Closer to fifty feet. I was afraid that the marines might start shooting as soon as we put her down and I didn't want a dragon hit, so I thought it would be best to drop it from a higher altitude," Harry replied.

Jackson paled and turned to stare at Harry. "You lifted the ship and moved it hundreds of miles in a handful of minutes and then dropped it?"

Harry shrugged. "Less actually. Distance has no meaning when you can jump Between. It's funny, Admiral Slater seemed to dislike the idea of our dropping the ship too. I mean we gently laid down the Orkney in that field.

"It wasn't much, all totaled, only about forty dragons actually lifted that ship. The rest of us provided covering fire with our crossbows to protect them," he replied, then he grinned and glanced around. "Captain, I imagine it would only take sixty of our dragons to move your Illustrious anywhere in the world. We did it with the Orkney, and now the Sea Pearl."

"Harry, don't do that to the captain." James warned with a smile, then he turned to Jackson. "Sir, he has no intention of lifting your ship, he's just trying to make a point."

Harry nodded. "That's true, I wouldn't dream of trying to do anything to your ship sir. On the other hand the Navy knows that should another situation like the Orkney arise and we can get there in time, we'll do what it takes to save lives and property."

An ensign approached the captain and handed him a message form. He glanced down, then tilted it so that the work lights could illuminate it. "Our Sea King found and recovered three bodies from the ship. They are continuing to search, but it doesn't look like we'll find any more."

"Bodies?"

Jackson looked up from the note and saw the Weyrleader looking especially uncomfortable. "All three were badly burned, probably from your first pass."

James placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed. "You knew it was likely to happen Harry."

Harry swallowed and nodded. "Knowing it could happen and hearing it did happen aren't quite the same James," he said a bit unhappily. "I suppose it was necessary."

"Weyrleader if I may, we do what we must to protect our nation. Sometimes the job is very distasteful and sometimes it is very rewarding. Those bodies are balanced out by the fact that your dragon saved my air crew from certain death," Jackson said. "What you do now is go home and put this behind you. Mark it as a victory for our side and look towards the next challenge. It is a rare operation that we can call done and have no fatalities."

Harry looked at Jackson, he knew the man knew nothing about what was happening at the end of this month or the ultimate fate of the terrorists. His advice was simple and based on what Jackson's own job was.

"Thank you captain," Harry said after a moment. He stood a little straighter and turned back to James. "Are you required to stay here or do you want a lift home?"

James grinned broadly. "I've been reactivated for the duration of this crisis. But no one said anything about me serving aboard the Illustrious on her next tour. I'll go with you."

Jackson chuckled, he had looked up Mills' service record and knew he wasn't on any sort of active duty. He had left the service on a special discharge to help care for his dying wife years ago and then made a name for himself as a minor member of Parliament. The man could have had a promising career in the Navy if it hadn't been cut short by a personal tragedy. He nodded to Mills in understanding. "Thank you for your efforts commander, you have been a great help today. You have served honorably and are a credit to the Navy. Consider yourself relieved."

James smiled and saluted smartly and Jackson returned the salute.

Harry looked over at Katie who was directing Cetath into the sling they used to move injured dragons. His front paw was now covered in bandage paste and wrapped in thick blankets to protect the wound from the cold of Between.

Harry turned back to Jackson. "Captain, thank you for your help today. We were honored to spend some time on your great ship and hope sometime in the future the Weyr can come again for a more leisurely visit. I am certain a great many of my riders would like to see more of your ship."

Jackson smiled broadly, like every captain, he was proud of his ship. "And I'm sure my crew would like to know more about your friends."

Harry and James walked over towards where May sat on Cheki's leg. Meanwhile four dragons grabbed the corners of the sling and launched themselves skyward. Cetath barely lifted from the deck when all five dragons vanished in a blast of super cold air. Kranth leapt skyward a moment later and vanished in his own blast of cold air. His paw was also wrapped in blankets to protect the injury, but he didn't need a sling.

"My god that's incredible," Jackson said, then he shook his head. _If only we could do that,_ he thought to himself.

Harry turned and walked over to where May sat. He bent slightly and gently checked her hands. She winced and he frowned. "Let Trath take James back to the Weyr. I'll take you on Cheki," he said.

She glared at him. "My hands are fine!"

He looked at her. "Make a fist," he said. When she couldn't he sighed. "Sweetheart, right now I'm not sure you could even climb up on Trath without help. I'll help you get seated on Cheki and we'll get you home where Issac can look you over. Tomorrow we're going to get together and see what can be done to prevent this kind of thing."

"Harry you can't prevent these kind of injuries, they just happen," May protested.

Harry ran a tired hand through his hair. "May, I'm talking about how you hurt your hands. We need another way of sewing up a wounded dragon that doesn't injure the healer. Issac once told me that surgeons also use staples, can't we do that also?"

May blinked in surprise and stared at him. "I don't know," she admitted.

Harry nodded and gently pulled her to her feet. "I know sweetheart, that's why tomorrow we'll talk about it."

He wandlessly cast a featherlight charm on her and she literally vaulted up to a position behind Harry's normal spot. Chekiath turned and eyed her while Harry easily climbed into his place. He fumbled with the harness for a moment trying to connect her in. The harnesses weren't designed to secure a passenger.

"Harry, just add it to your list and I'll hold onto you tightly. I know you and Chekiath won't make any sudden maneuvers to throw me off," she said tiredly. The excitement of the day was quickly wearing off and she was very tired.

"_We'd never,"_ protested Chekiath.

She smiled. "I know Cheki."

Harry nodded and turned forward, then he glanced around. Katie was waiting patiently for Harry's signal. Trath was nearby with James sitting a little uncomfortably on her. He wasn't used to flying solo. The remaining dragons and riders had assembled around James and tried to take his mind off of the solo flight by joking with him.

Harry pumped his fist twice and the small group of dragons leapt skyward and vanished.

Captain Brent Jackson shook his head in amazement, then he turned and walked back to the island and it's path up to the bridge. The Illustrious still had work to do and this was only the start of it's deployment. As he walked, he wondered how he was going to write this up in the ship's log. He didn't believe it, why would someone reading the log in the future believe it?

**Kitchen Hall, Campbeltown July 18th...**

It was lunch time and the Weyr was just waking from an exhausting night. Harry walked into the hall, one fist clutched a printout of an email he had received from the Prime Minister's office. He looked around and noted everyone watching him.

Harry strode to the front of the room and turned to face the Weyr. Everyone looked tired still from last night. If his riders were tired, he was beyond tired. He had been up all night and had Dobby swipe a potion from the Weyr stores to wake him up. The potion had given him energy, but he knew when it wore off he was going to crash hard.

"So is everyone awake?" he asked with a weak grin.

There was a moment of silence before people grumbled at him. He had awoken his riders an hour earlier. Harry knew from experience that they shouldn't let themselves get turned around.

Most of last night after returning to the Weyr had been spent dealing with his girls. Hermione had nearly been shot and as it stood, she had lost a considerable chunk of her hair, cut away by the passage of the bullet. It wasn't until she got home and had looked at herself in a mirror that she realized how close that shot had been. It took a light sleeping potion from Issac and a sharp command to Comaloth from Cheki to finally settle the pair for the night.

May was a little better off, but her hands and wrists ached terribly last night. She actually needed Harry's help to change into her pajamas. Today she wore a simple pull over blouse and skirt that didn't require a lot of hand movements to get on.

He waited until they settled down, then he unfolded the paper and glanced down at it. The numbers listed were there in all their stark reality. It was a reality he had no intention of sharing with his riders unless asked.

Looking up from his paper he began to speak. "Thanks to our efforts, Her Majesty's government has been able to avoid a major attack on British soil. It should please everyone to note that our adventure last night was not noticed by anyone. Also I have here a brief note of thanks from the Prime Minister. He informs me that they now believe the terrorists that were supposed to meet the ship may have fled to the continent either via one of the cross channel ferries or the chunnel. Apparently they fled when the pair that were arrested failed to show up at their arranged meeting place."

He glanced down at the note again, then he looked up and smiled. "On a more pleasant note, the Prime Minister reports that both helicopter crewmen are now listed in stable condition and are expected to recover fully. Cetath's actions resulted in saving those lives at great risk to himself. That rotor blade could have gone through his neck instead of his leg. The important thing is that all of you, riders and dragons acted like we should. I'm proud of all of you. Well done!

"It might interest you to know that First Sea Lord Admiral Slater wishes to give Cetath a Conspicuous Gallantry award for his actions yesterday. Normally this is only given to a member of the British military, but if he succeeds in convincing the PM, I'll allow it."

Harry paused when the doors opened and Sir Robert and James walked in. He nodded in greeting, then he continued. "Today is a wash, I know most of you would like to go back to bed, but you really don't want to turn your days and nights around. That's why I had the dragons wake you when I did. Remus will be handing wake up potions in a bit and a light sleeping potion for tonight in case you need it, please see him after lunch for your potion. Use it, it will help wake you up, trust me on that. Doctor Sheppard will have the sleeping potions available after dinner."

Harry paused and looked around the room for a moment. "Sir Robert I realize the last few days we haven't been helping as much with preparing for the thirty first..."

Sir Robert waved Harry to silence. "Nonsense Harry, the Weyr is ready. The science complex and power station is ready and I believe our army friends will be ready as well."

Harry nodded, he felt they were ready as well, but he wanted to make sure. "Well then can I prevail upon you and Doctor Sheppard for some help of a technical nature?"

Sir Robert looked intrigued and he bobbed his head happily.

"After lunch then in my office please?" Harry asked, then he waved to May, "May, you too please."

She looked up from her lunch in surprise and nodded.

Satisfied, he turned and walked from the hall leaving the riders tired, but happy to know there was nothing pressing for them to deal with today.

Twenty minutes later, Sir Robert, Issac Sheppard, May and Hermione filed into Harry's office. Harry looked up from his desk in surprise, but both girls smiled when they saw the small tray containing Harry's mostly eaten lunch on it. They were going to take him to task about skipping meals, but Dobby beat them to it.

"I thought I'd sit in if you don't mind Harry," Hermione said a bit meekly. Of all the riders, she had the most traumatic experience last night, even if she didn't discover it until she returned to Campbeltown.

He shook his head. "No not at all, I just wanted to discuss the problem May encountered last night. Your input could be useful."

Hermione still looked terribly pale from last night and he was worried about her. This morning her mother and a few of the girls helped trim her hair and he had to admit he found the shorter hair very attractive on her.

Last night however was a different story. Once Hermione realized how close she had come to dying, she broke down in tears. Not because she nearly lost her life, but because she knew her dying would result in her dragon dying. Her reaction was enough to cause Comaloth to become upset and the pair fed off of the emotions of the other. A quick call to Doctor Sheppard had him deliver a heavy calming drought while Chekiath forced Comaloth to settle down.

The bullet had passed close enough to cut off a significant amount of hair on one side. Instinctively Comaloth and Hermione both fired on the person that shot at her. She had missed the man by a few inches, but Comaloth did not miss.

Her last recollection of the man was of him plunging over the side, shrieking in agony and on fire from his head to his toes. She hadn't even known how close she came to being killed until she came home and discovered the damage to her hair. Correcting the damage to her hair resulted in trimming it back to shoulder length.

She had killed, if indirectly via her dragon and she needed Harry and May last night to help her get through it. This morning Emma, Mariah and Susan had helped trim and fix her hair and Harry thought it looked really good, but he didn't like why she had to cut it. Her hair now rested on her shoulders instead of falling to her mid back.

Between Hermione and May both, Harry had spent the better part of the night talking and soothing his girls. The entire weyr was running on only a few short hours of sleep and Harry was running on even less. After both girls dropped off he got up and went to his office to find out how the assault on the ship had gone, then he visited the infirmary to talk with his injured dragons.

It wasn't over by a long shot and he knew Hermione was suffering from a major case of guilt and lack of confidence right now. He was certain that last night's action would be the subject of many conversations around the Weyr in the days to come.

"You didn't tell everyone everything that was in that email did you?" asked May suddenly. Hermione's eyes narrowed and she looked intently at Harry while Sir Robert and Issac watched uncomfortably.

Harry sighed. "No I didn't," he admitted.

"What did you leave out?" pressed May.

Harry looked between the two girls and then he passed the printout to Hermione. She read it and her expression grew pinched. "Oh," she said softly. Finally she looked up and handed the paper to May.

Harry turned to Issac and Sir Robert. "I didn't feel it would help matters if I told the riders that only thirty four terrorists were found alive on-board the Sea Pearl. Everyone of them had injuries due to the fall, some died from burns, but most of them were killed when the ship was dropped.

"That Chinese Colonel was one of the fatalities. He was found at the bottom of a stairway with a broken neck," Harry said quietly. He didn't want to think about it too strongly. His first impression after reading that was to throw up, he was thankful at the time he had nothing on his stomach.

Sir Robert looked down sourly, clearly not thrilled with the news either. Finally he looked up and gave Harry a determined look. "It seems very condescending to say it was necessary, but it was. The issue now is to look to your future with your dragons Harry."

Harry nodded. "I know, and that is why I asked you and Issac here to join us. Yesterday May hurt her hands attempting to close a large wound on a dragon using stitches."

Issac looked at May in surprise. "You used that kit we assembled last week?"

May looked up from the printout in confusion. She hadn't been paying attention to their conversation. "What?"

"You used the surgical kit?" Issac pressed again.

"Yes, the wound had broken the scales off so that only the underlying hide was visible. It was at least a foot long and an two inches to three inches deep. I didn't see any major blood vessels, so I thought stitches would be good enough," May replied. "The hide can be pierced as long as you're pulling the needle with a pair of pliers. But it's really not a good solution, my hands and wrist still aches from it."

Issac nodded knowingly, he and May had discussed the issue many times. There were a series of problems involved in healing a dragon injury, the first being the formidable layers of protection the dragons had. The outer layer of scales were hard to cut and nearly impossible to burn. Each scale was like a human fingernail, it would grow to replace a missing piece and on older dragons could become thick enough to make cutting very difficult. Underneath the layer of scales was a thick hide that was tougher and stronger than the thickest rawhide.

Issac noted May still protecting her hands and he leaned forward and took her hands in his, examining them. He had her make a fist a couple times, and squeeze his hands.

"The pain you feel is partly due to the fact that you are performing repetitive motions that you are not used to May," Issac said. "My hands used to ache when I was doing my surgical rotation as an intern and human skin is much easier to stitch than dragon hide. Given how tough dragon hide is, I daresay you really strained your muscles last night. I didn't honestly expect you to jump into surgery this soon. When we're done here I would like to inspect the wound with you and talk about it further."

Issac turned to Harry to explain. "When we assembled the kit I didn't expect it to be used just yet. At the time May and I thought it would be a smart idea to have something to fall back on just in case. From May's description of the size of the wound I'd say she really had no choice. A wound of that size doesn't heal well without some help like suturing it closed.

"I had planned on exploring some alternatives to stitches than the old needle and thread method. I was thinking about some sort of surgical staple, but they would have to be custom made to be stronger. That means the staple, the tool to insert the staple and the extraction tool have to be redesigned," he explained. "Given the toughness of the hide, it may be necessary to completely rethink the surgical staple gun entirely."

Sir Robert turned to Issac, "I have a very promising physics student who has been pestering me about a summer internship. If you need someone to redesign established tools, he would be perfect for the job."

Harry looked over at May who was staring at the two men. "May?"

She handed him back the printout and grimaced slightly when her wrist twinged. "Honestly if that wound had been longer I would have asked one of the men who were watching to help. If we had another wound like that one today I don't think I could do it."

Harry looked at her in disbelief, he knew she would do whatever it takes no matter how much it hurt her. It was one of the things that he admired so much about her. Her empathy and compassion for injured and sick dragons drove her to forgo her own health to help them. Harry turned to Sir Robert, "I think that would be a great help Sir Robert. My question is can we tie this in with increased healing abilities?"

Sir Robert looked up his expression full of interest. "Eh? What do you mean Harry?"

Harry leaned back in his chair. "I know there's been a lot of talk about bringing in x-ray machines and other stuff I don't understand. My problem with this is we seem to be working under the idea that it's impossible to operate on a dragon."

Harry gestured and a book floated off of a shelf into his open hand. He flipped a few pages. "Last week among the unmanned Weyrs four dragons went Between. Remus records the reasons as follows, old age for two of them and two for reasons unknown. He notes that one dragon spat up blood suddenly and then leapt Between. Remus also states that no one even knew that one dragon was sick. He never asked Hagrid for help, or came to us for help. The non-bonded dragons just assume they can't be helped for anything beyond a simple injury."

He paused and looked at them, his expression grim. "Right now our bonded dragons will hold on as long as possible because of their riders. But the non-bonded dragons don't have that reason to tie them here. I think we need to start thinking of ways to give them that option. I'm not saying everything can be fixed and May has done wonders helping our dragons. So has Hagrid, but if you look at what they are doing, they are basically fixing minor injuries."

He stood from his chair and put the book back on the shelf, then he turned and faced them again. "Lornth was a major injury, and the only one so far that we've handled. He would have jumped Between had it not been for May and her father. The dragons understand we're willing to help them but why can't we do more?"

He walked around to the front of his desk and placed a hand on May's shoulder. She looked up at him, watching him intently. "I am certain that someday people will look back and remember May Potter as the pioneering Weyrhealer that put the science into the healing, but right now she's just one person that is actively trying new things. Everyone else, even Hagrid, has been following her lead. Lornth would be dead, but instead she got help from her father and copied an idea she saw her cousin go through to heal his injury."

"Harry," Issac said gently, "Your goal is admirable, but not very realistic. We are at the very beginning stage of understanding dragon anatomy and physiology. Perhaps in ten years we'll know more about dragons and we'll be able to start performing some simple surgeries."

May sniffed a little and looked down. Harry turned to her, startled then he realized something very important. He walked over to crouch down in front of her. "May sweetheart, I know how hard you've been working. I can't think of anyone that could have done a better job. I'm just concerned, it's too a big a job for any one person to do alone. You and Hermione are constantly making sure I don't overwork myself. It's my job to make sure you don't do the same thing."

She looked up at him, carefully searching his expression. "Do you mean that?" she whispered.

He nodded. "I do. I just thought we've been spending all this time and money on all kinds of research, but very little research is being done into the dragons themselves."

"He's right," Sir Robert said after a moments silence. "We have been concentrating on unique abilities and aspects of dragons and not doing anything that could benefit them. In all the excitement over things like Hot Rocks and the Bulstrode Effect we have done very little in terms of their basic biology. That sort of understanding would help in learning to heal dragons."

Harry straightened up a little and kissed May on the forehead then he stood up. "I will ask all of the Weyrs to contact us when they have an egg that fails to hatch. I'm afraid that's the best we can do for the moment. Any unhatched eggs will be turned over to Sir Robert," Harry said. He wasn't thrilled with the idea but he understood the necessity of it.

Sir Robert nodded and suppressed the urge to smile. He knew the riders found the topic very distasteful. This was the breakthrough he had been hoping for since he first met the dragons. "I do have a preliminary report on that one egg, but I was under the impression that no one was really interested."

"Sir Robert, it's not that we're uninterested. I am very interested," May said, recovering from her misunderstanding of what Harry had been saying. "It's just an uncomfortable subject for us. Dragons seem to have an instinctual need to go Between to die. Unhatched eggs aren't dragons as far as the dragons are concerned. It doesn't seem to bother our dragons, but we riders find it upsetting. And having admitted that, I need to know more. Harry is right, I need to know more about dragons if we are to have any hope of handling anything major.

"Cetath's injury was in a good place, had it been to his belly where the scales are thinner, or to his neck I don't know what I would have done," she said, then she shivered slightly. "I probably would have watched helplessly as Cetath used the last of his strength to go Between."

May leaned back in her chair and smiled slightly at Harry. It had taken a bit for her to understand he wasn't complaining about her performance.

"More eggs would be a huge help," Sir Robert said softly. "But an adult specimen would be a major boon, but as you pointed out, the dragons seem to instinctively know when to make that final jump Between."

Harry nodded unhappily, the idea of a dragon not going Between bothered him. It seemed to be too much to ask of the dragons.

"Why aren't the eggs sufficient?" asked Hermione.

Sir Robert smiled. "My dear, you're a beautiful young woman, but could you determine your adult form by looking at your infant self? As we age, our bodies mature, sex organs develop, the brain continues to develop. A typical human adult male can out weigh and out mass a newborn by many times. And then there is the issue of what killed the hatchling? How do we know what is a properly formed heart and what isn't? Right now the only thing we can do is compare one heart with another, but we can't even do that. We have organs from just one egg that failed to hatch. We have lots of questions, but no answers and the only way we'll get that is by looking."

Harry nodded while Hermione sat back in her chair thinking about what Sir Robert said.

"I have seen baby pictures of both Hermione and May and while some features are still present, there is no way I could have guessed how they would have grown up," Harry admitted.

Both Hermione and May glanced sharply at Harry for a moment, then started considering how best to get revenge on their parents for breaking out the embarrassing baby photos.

Sir Robert turned to Harry and pointed a finger in the air. "Exactly! We do not know what the proper starting condition is for the eggs nor do we know what the adult anatomy is like. There are organs that couldn't be identified. Are they involved in the fire generation or perhaps the ability to go Between?" Sir Robert said, then he sighed. "For all we know there is a special part of their brain which controls their telepathy. At this point we understand more about their DNA than we do their anatomy. And I'd have to see we only understand a small bit of that."

"This is all interesting speculation at this point, but it doesn't solve the basic problem," Issac said. "May performed a fairly simple operation on a dragon. It was the first one ever performed and it was under less than ideal conditions. I think it's safe to say that we can close major wounds. If we concentrate on just that aspect, we can significantly improve our knowledge and our ability to save dragon's lives."

May nodded. "Just by sealing an open wound?"

Issac shook his head. "No, not just that alone. But you have to start somewhere. Consider the next time this happens and the wound is not in an extremity. You flush the wound with normal saline and look for obvious bleeders, then you clamp them off and try to repair that damage before you close the wound. At one time battlefield surgery consisted of little more than amputation, then they moved to sewing things up and hoping the patient healed. One step at a time, but you have to start somewhere.

"First we nurse Cetath through and make sure he doesn't develop any problems. We learn from each case and build upon what we learned. I'm not saying it has to be done now but I can easily envision a day when the infirmary has new room added to it just to handle dragon sized surgeries," Issac said firmly.

Harry coughed to catch their attention. "All right then, to sum up, May and Issac need to examine the idea of staples and Sir Robert has someone to do the engineering for us. I'll talk to Karen about funding that engineering effort. Further we all agree that more needs to be done to learn about the dragons themselves. I will ask all of the Weyrs to inform us of any eggs that fail to hatch. As to the issue of an adult to examine... well I can't promise anything, but I do see the need for it and will consider how that can be achieved."

"I'll contact Doctor Standish at Condron and ask if they would be interested in leading the effort into the basic biology. The Yanks have access to some hardware that we don't, including an industrial x-ray machine and a CT scanner capable of providing images of large pieces of machinery like a lorry chassis. They've been working on the baseline data so extending into the biology and physiology shouldn't be too hard for them," Sir Robert offered.

Harry nodded. "Thank you Sir Robert, Issac. This will be a big help I'm sure."

Seeing that the conversation was over Sir Robert and Issac rose from their seats and left the room.

Harry watched them leave and waited until his door was closed before he turned back to May and Hermione. "May I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I know how hard you've been working and how difficult it's been for you."

She shook her head. "Its fine Harry. It took me a moment to realize you weren't complaining about what I was doing. Instead you were complaining about the lack of help in learning about dragons in general."

He shrugged uncomfortably, "I just want our dragons everywhere to know we're trying. I understand that we can't do this overnight, but if no one is looking into the basic science, we'll never be able to do it at all."

He made a sour face. "The really hard part is going to be explaining to our dragons the need for a few adult bodies."

"_It is not a nice subject,"_ Chekiath said suddenly. _"But if I understand rightly, May and the other healers need to know more about dragons so they can help dragons. Collecting unhatched eggs is easy enough, but you also need to see how we are... made? With adults?"_

"That was a very good way to express it Cheki," May replied. "Human doctors have spent years learning about how the human body works by examining dead bodies. It's not a nice topic, like you pointed out, but sometimes it's necessary to do something distasteful in order to do good. The more we learn about dragons, the more problems we'll be able to deal with."

"It's not as simple as that," Hermione protested. "Human doctors have been examining bodies for hundreds of years and they still haven't answered all the questions."

May turned to Hermione. "Yes that's true, but you have to start somewhere. If we limit ourselves to examining only eggs that fail to hatch we will certainly miss important information. Even one specimen is better than none."

"Ladies," Harry said, jumping in to prevent them starting a heated debate. "Let's worry about getting the ball rolling, then we'll deal with satisfying the needs of the scientists."

"_I will talk with Spath about this Harry. Is it okay if I ask May to help explain things to Spath if needed?"_ Chekiath asked.

Harry smiled and glanced over at May who nodded at him. "Go ahead mate, May will be glad to help." He reached for his book and scratched out a line, then added another notation. "One item down, one item added," he muttered.

Hermione and May shared an amused glance between them then both turned back to him. "Harry have you slept at all?" May asked.

He sighed and shook his head. "Not yet. After you both dropped off there were things I still needed to do."

"Harry, you can't do that," protested Hermione, suddenly forgetting her own problems.

"I'll be in bed tonight," he promised. "There was just too much to do when we got back last night."

"You better," May all but growled. "I've half a mind to tell Cheki you're grounded today."

He wiped his face tiredly. "I know," he said softly. "But we have no plans to go anywhere today."

May stood and straightened out her skirt. "Fine," she said a bit angrily, then she walked out.

He watched her leave in astonishment, then he turned back to Hermione. "Are you going to be angry with me also?"

"No," Hermione replied with a shake of her head. "She's still upset about yesterday. We know that sometimes your responsibilities make you do things that are unhealthy for you, but that doesn't mean we have to like it."

"I said I'll be there tonight," he said with a slight whine.

Hermione smiled, this sounded so much like the Harry she grew up with. In a way it reassured her to know that the old Harry was still there under the tough Weyrleader image he now wore. "I know and I know that you usually do what you say. Last night you helped May and I. Tonight it's our turn. Don't worry about May, she's not really mad at you."

Hermione stood and leaned over the desk to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see you tonight Weyrleader," she said with a weak smile. Harry knew she was latching on her need to help him rather than dealing with her own issues but he wasn't going to force her to face them today.

He nodded and watched her walk from his office. He sighed and flipped on his computer, there were still twenty unanswered emails waiting for his attention.

**#10 Downing Street, London, July 24th...**

Sir William, Alejandro Croaker and Arthur Weasley, filed into the Prime Minister's office for a special meeting. Arthur had been personally selected by Albus Dumbledore to replace him. In a personal letter left by Albus to Sir William he wrote that Arthur might not be very magically powerful, but he was one of the most honest and trustworthy members of the ministry and would be an excellent person to fill his position at the minister and at the ICW.

Sir William had shown the letter to Alejandro who agreed with Albus' assessment of Weasley's character. After personally interviewing the man, and visiting him at home he offered Arthur the position. He also took the opportunity of the home visit to ask the younger Weasley to consider returning to Ministry employ, assuming the position his father once held as Director of the Office of Revision.

Percy's recovery from his ordeal was slow and he still needed to spend more time with a mind healer, but the offer greatly improved his morale and he agreed to start filling in for his father.

His ordeal had not left him unscathed, but with his parents support and Penelope's help the only visible remnants were a tremor in his hands and a tendency towards nightmares. As soon as Percy had been released from the hospital, Penelope Clearwater showed up at the Burrow and announced she was here to help Percy recover. Her parents were shocked that Percy had managed to maintain his relationship with Ms. Clearwater and keep it secret from them. She hadn't been allowed to visit Percy in the hospital but since arriving back at the Burrow she had been there nearly every day.

Molly was ecstatic to see Penelope and to have her helping. She was sure that someday very soon, she would be calling the young woman daughter.

Prime Minister Major looked up from a report he was reading and waved the men into the room. Tony Blair sat in one of the armchairs and he had been talking softly with Lord Kennewick. Both men looked up and nodded in greeting when the others entered.

"Excellent, now we can get started," Major said. "First, Sir William, well done on dealing with those terrorists. I'm told that you've captured nearly sixty people. It is a shame that Carlos slipped through our fingers, but CID has alerted Interpol and I know your ICW is also looking out for him as well."

Sir William nodded. "Yes sir, I think that for now we can safely put that issue aside."

"Good, good, one less thing for us to worry about and if we get lucky Interpol or someone else will put a finger on Carlos and pick him up for us," Major replied, then he turned to Arthur.

"Mr. Weasley I know that you haven't had much time in the position, but I would like to know how things are fairing with the Italian/Greek situation."

Arthur sighed. "Perhaps not as well as we could have hoped sir. There is a multinational force now separating the two countries and neither country has enough of a defense force to start another direct fight. Unfortunately we're being hampered by both sides resorting to more subtle methods of attacking each other. Last week a high ranking member of the Greek Ministry attempted to assassinate the Greek Minister of Magic. It later turned out that the assassin was under the imperious curse."

"I'm sorry, imperious curse?" asked Tony Blair.

"It's one of the three unforgivable curses Mr. Blair," Sir William said. "Under such a curse you can be commanded to do virtually anything and unless you are very strong willed and magically powerful you have no way of breaking free from the curse. Imagine putting the Archbishop of Canterbury under such a curse and ordering him to kill someone. He would have no choice but to obey the command and the victim would die never understanding why someone so trustworthy was killing him."

"Under Ministry law, any British wizard or witch found casting such a curse is tried and sent to prison for life. Its one of the few laws we kept from the old regime that made sense," Arthur added.

Blair nodded thoughtfully, he was coming to realize that the muggle government was in a much better position to protect itself, but it still relied heavily on the loyalty of the wizards to behave themselves. It was a chilling idea to know that so many people had the power to wreak havoc if they chose to.

Sir William eyed the Labor leader and nodded to himself. "You are worried that the the Wizards can still cause problems for us aren't you?" he asked Blair.

Blair shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You have to admit it is a possibility."

"From the general wizard population perhaps," Arthur said, "but not from the Ministry. Every Ministry employee has given a magical oath of loyalty to the office of the Prime Minister and the British Monarchy. It's now a requirement for hiring anyone at the ministry."

"A oath?" exclaimed Blair incredulously. He couldn't believe they would put their faith in something so flimsy.

"Sir, you don't understand," Arthur replied. "A magical oath is enforced by magic. Should I, for example, pull my wand and attempt to cast the killing curse on the Prime Minister, my oath will kill me before I can finish the incantation. No sir, the Ministry of Magic will remain loyal to the legal government of Britain for as long as we continue to insist on the oath as a requirement for new employees."

Major grinned at Blair. He had been briefed on the oath months earlier when he first raised similar fears to Sir William. "Amazing isn't it? Sir Basil would kill for the ability to enforce such loyalty. Imagine being able to be absolutely certain there are no double agents in your department."

Blair nodded thoughtfully, the British had a long history of trouble with double agents going all the way back to the forties. What the Ministry of Magic had done was unprecedented and it offered a certainty that no other department could provide.

"Getting back to the Greek problem?" prompted Major.

Arthur blinked and nodded. "Yes yes, right now the region separating the two countries is still wide open, so portkeys and apparation is still possible. By the end of this month Warders from several ICW member nations will start closing those holes by erecting a series of wards. The need to create so many ward stones and put them in place is why it's taken this long to fully erect the blockade. Typically a magical ministry has wards along their border to control and funnel traffic to key points, but neither of the governments involved were willing to hand over control of those wards. We were able to close their borders to other countries, but we had no control on traffic between them.

"Yoshi Musabe, the lead ICW negotiator feels confident that once the ward stones are in place, the Greeks and Italians will have little choice but to talk since the last avenues for them to continue their war will have been closed. He is also concerned about Spain which he believes might have been at least partly responsible for this war in the first place. Unfortunately there is little hard evidence to back that up."

Major nodded solemnly, "Please stay on top of that for us."

Arthur nodded. "Of course Minister."

Major glanced around, then he flipped open a file folder. "Gentlemen, in a few days time Her Majesty's government will be announcing the existence of dragons to the world. Security at the Weyr will be extremely tight and I would like to add to that by borrowing a few of your Aurors for the day."

"Of course," Sir William said instantly. "We'll be happy to help."

"Excuse me, but they are revealing dragons, what about the magical aspects of dragons?" asked Arthur worriedly. He knew the government wanted to eventually announce the existence of magic, but the plan he had been working on called for a very slow trickle of information to be released. It was a plan that spanned whole decades, this sounded like it would short circuit the entire process.

"The Weyr is revealing the existence of dragons Mr. Weasley, not the existence of magic. All of the magical abilities of dragons will be explained as either being unknown, meaning we don't yet understand how they manage it, or explained as part of their design. An awful lot can be covered up by the fact that the dragons are extraterrestrial in origin.

"It will be acknowledged that dragons were artificially designed, a long long time ago and brought to Earth by accident. The truth behind the creation of the dragons is now covered under the Official Secrets Act at the highest classification. The public will not be told who designed them and will wrongfully assume another alien race designed them. When asked we will simply say we don't know who did the original design.

"Harry's impression will be explained as an accident that awoke the dragons from their eons long loss of intelligence. Most of the public will simply assume that it took this long before humans became compatible with dragons," Major said. "On the day that we reveal the existence of dragons there will be nearly a thousand people at the Weyr. Foreign dignitaries, including nearly every ambassador currently in Britain. We've invited the American President as well as the UN Secretary General. Not counting the press, we've also arranged for the survivors from the Orkney and their families to be present.

"The Orkney incident will be explained in detail to give an example of what the dragons are capable of doing besides creating hot rocks," Major said. "The press and dignitaries will be given a tour of a working power plant powered by hot rocks and allowed to mingle with the dragons and ask their own questions."

"My god," O'Hearny whispered. He shook his head, awed by the scale of the undertaking.

"Yes," Major said with a smile, "we're pulling out all the stops on this one. In a way, since we aren't explaining the origin of dragons except to say that they are extra-terrestrial in origin we are admitting the existence of intelligent life outside our planet. The dragons have no memory of other species of intelligence, but we're fairly certain that the space going humans that created them probably encountered aliens in their travels. Admitting that intelligence outside of earth exists is a far cry from saying an alien race is coming to visit us."

"Shall we coordinate through CID?" asked Sir William, bringing the conversation back to the original topic.

Major glanced over at Kennewick who nodded, then he turned back to Sir William. "That will be fine. Thank you gentlemen."

Kennewick, Blair and Major watched the three men file from the office, then Major turned to Kennewick. "Has our other problem been dealt with?"

Kennewick nodded, "Left out of RAF Benbecula this morning around 2am. Our Chinese friends were able to dig up one of their Il-76s to reduce the number of aircraft needed. Although I do think they were disappointed that their man wasn't alive to face their idea of a trial. We told the locals that the Chinese were performing a humanitarian mission for one of their fishing vessels that ran into trouble."

"And the two men that we captured?" pressed Major.

"We informed the Russian embassy earlier yesterday. One man faces murder charges and he'll be tried in our courts. The other we will deport under escort to Russia and turn them over to their Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Russian ambassador was suitably shocked and dismayed and immediately offered to take them both off their hands. Instead we got an agreement. Once their man is sentenced, he'll be returned to Russia to serve time in their prison system. I don't have all of the details, but that was how it was explained to me," Kennewick replied.

Major leaned back in his chair and sighed in relief. The Chinese had agreed in principle to take the prisoners off their hands, but he wasn't entirely sure they would do just that. His economics adviser explained that the Chinese were desperate to secure access to hot rocks, reducing their reliance on oil. As a country they had vast reserves of natural resources, coal and other minerals in abundance, but little oil of their own. Because of that a significant amount of their money went to paying for oil to be imported in from the middle east.

"Excellent," Major said, "Well Tony? One problem down and now we're going to reveal our friends to the world. Is Labor ready for that?"

Ordinarily Blair and his party would use an incident like this to publicly destroy Major's administration, but that wasn't the case. Despite their political differences, of which there were many, both men were united on the subject of dragons. Dragons, they felt, were key to the future prosperity of the nation.

Blair smiled broadly. His party were clamoring for opportunities to meet again with the dragons and hear more about the ongoing research projects. "I'm afraid they are about as excited as an Irishman that's been told he's won a lifetime supply of whiskey. Curbing their enthusiasm is probably going to take up a lot of time."

Blair paused and thought for a moment. "Its a unique experience actually. The dragons represent something we, as politicians, rarely see. Good news... no, great news. Not just proof that intelligence other than our own exists, but an offer of friendship and an offer to help all rolled into one package. They want little in return, a place to live, and a chance to earn their place in society.

"I have wracked my brain trying to think of something that affected the world like this will. I tried comparing it to the invention of the steam engine, or the car, but the comparisons all seemed lacking."

Major leaned forward in his chair. "And did you eventually come up with anything? Lord knows I have considered it myself some nights."

"Sir Robert finally told me that the dragons were nearly as fundamental as the invention of the transistor, then he went on to explain how that one invention changed the world. I think he was right, now days you can't walk ten feet without bumping into transistors. They literally reshaped our world. I firmly believe dragons can reshape it again. I don't think you'll see dragons every ten feet, but their influence and impact on our society will be just as profound."

Major leaned back and smiled. "Yes I think I can see your point, and I hope you don't get too upset with me if I steal your idea."

Blair smiled thinly, he knew Major would be addressing the world in a few days time, it was an opportunity that any politician would kill for. He bowed slightly in his chair. "Not at all," he replied, he knew his turn was coming.

Major scribbled a quick note in his file, then he closed it and pulled another file from the pile and opened it. "While your here Tony, I'd like to discuss the National Health Care system and our funding requirements."

Kennewick stood. "With your permission Minister?"

Major nodded. "Yes, thank you Cyril, I'll call you in a few days."

Kennewick nodded and left the office. Once the door was closed, Major handed Blair a duplicate of the folder he had. Great news or not, the business of government must go on.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- A few have commented about disliking the idea of a third book that continues into the future. Its rather puzzling really, but I will put one expressed fear aside and say that it will not continue on until Harry's death. In fact since I first started this storyline it was always my intent to carry the story to a point in time that would end the entire series in the area of 2010-2015. No death for Harry, that's a promise.

- There's been A LOT of people suggesting simpler solutions to the terrorists. This is the reason why they are the readers and I am the author. Let's make a simple point here. Drama. That's ultimately what brings the readers back to stories like these.

George Lucas isn't stupid, he KNEW that his X-Wing fights in the first star wars movie could have made a straight vertical approach to the venting port on the Death Star, but visually, that wouldn't be as dramatic as flying up a trench.

Tom Clancey knew that Jack Ryan running unarmed into a gun fight in Patriot Games was more interesting than having him cower behind a car.

So picking up the ship and dumping it Between, or dumping it directly in China is a bad idea from a writing perspective no matter how much you think its what they should do. But then you aren't writing this story, I am. If I followed your suggestion this chapter would be about 10 paragraphs in size and you'd yawn your way through it.

Harry and company aren't perfect and I can promise you that real life isn't perfect either. People make plans and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. If you don't believe me, look up operation Market Garden in World War II, it's a prime example of an idea that in hindsight wasn't all that great.

Finally I'll finish by saying I did consider those ideas LONG before you even knew about the terrorists and discarded them because I wanted this story to end on an high note. Most of the suggestions put forward simply put were boring and dull.

- Yeah Carlos failed, but he's not gone from this story. He will return in Dragon storm.

- Lord Sauron the Deciever, it is my intent to try my hand at an original story. Once Dragon Storm is completed, I'll start working on that, but the only way you'll be able to monitor it's progress will be via our Yahoo group. See my profile for the url if you don't know it.

- WhiteElfElder, I'm bucking the genres here. Putting Harry on deaths door is standard for Harry Potter fan fiction these days. But it's not going to happen here. Oh he'll get hurt now and then, but no big fight with Harry ending up in the hospital fighting for his life etc... You've come to expect that which is why it isn't going to happen. As far as using the cold as a weapon, well they really haven't played much with that, PLUS a ship that old is a mix of steel and cast iron and wood. Cold could see the thing shattering like an egg shell. PLUS the dragons haven't perfected using cold in any coordinated manner. So no, no cold anytime soon.

- PtDean threatens that he'll/she'll go crazy if I don't get the big reveal and the ship segment done. Well this chapter takes care of one of the requirements. Pt, if you do go crazy, post the video on youtube and let us know. If should be good for a laugh or two.

And now for this chapter's recommendation.

**Harry Potter & Death's Ultimatum** by **White Angel of Auralon**  
StoryID: **8286141**

This is one of those tales that does a passable job of redoing book 7 and in the process making Ginny a lot more palatable to the reader. Harry/Ginny stories don't bother me like it bothers some people, a story like this makes greater sense than the official canon. As always if you like the story, drop the author a note saying so. It's a decent read.

I will say it's getting harder and harder to find decent stories that don't devolve into smut. I know of several well written stories that I won't recommend because of that. I don't have a problem with smut and honestly, as a male, I find it can be rather enjoyable sometimes. But there is a trend lately for all HP fan fiction to have a lot of explicit scenes. A good story doesn't have to be explicit. You can allude to a lot without getting into the mechanics.

It's a shame, but smut shouldn't be the prime focus unless you're getting paid to write porn.


	19. Chapter 19

**Standard Disclaimer:**

Alyx stared at the smoking ruin that was once her computer and she wailed in agony.

"No more Who who's," Bob muttered, then he smashed the computer again with the baseball bat. "No more attempts to have Draco and Snapie do the nasty. No more Snape calling Draco Master."

Bob pummeled the computer again and again. He had had it, all he wanted was a simple disclaimer and if Alyx couldn't be relied on to create one, he'd be damned if he'd allow any more episodes of the Who who epic!

Bob stepped back from the ruined machine and cackled madly. "I rule! I, Bob, have once and for all, destroyed the Who who epic!"

He turned to the tearful Alyx. "Now tell the people we don't own Harry Potter or the Dragon Riders of Pern."

"No," Alyx said defiantly. "You broke my computer, now I'll never be able to make a disclaimer."

Bob blinked and frowned. He hadn't thought of that. "Well damn," he muttered. He shook his head and sighed. "I can't win."

Bob trudged off the stage in defeat, lamenting the fact that in 19 effing chapters he still hadn't gotten a decent disclaimer out of Alyx.

Alyx watched him go, then she looked down at her ruined computer. Slowly her expression changed as she remembered vital! She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Google Nexus 7. A moment later she was happily tapping away at the on-screen keyboard.

"Chapter 1, Return of the Who who," she muttered happily to herself. The small keyboard might slow her down, but she could do the sequel on her tablet.

"_Bob's gonna be pissed,"_ Chekiath observed. _"He thought he had ended the Who who epic."_

"I know, here's to hoping she'll get it done before the next book starts mate," offered Harry. "Now hush, the chapter is starting."

* * *

**For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.  
- Leonardo da Vinci**

**Farts are funny.  
- Chekiath, bonded dragon of The Weyrleader**

**The Weyr Theater and Harry's Office, Campbeltown Weyr, July 28th...**

Sir Robert and Lord Mills watched as the room filled with people who were buzzing with excitement. It was just four days before the Weyr was officially announced to the world and these were the people that would be handling that assignment.

These were the necessary reporters, technicians and craftsmen that would be setting up for the big press conference in four days time. Some were part of a British Army Engineers regiment, but mostly these were television company technicians who would be establishing satellite connections to their networks and setting up camera platforms and makeshift studios.

Lord Mills stepped towards the edge of the stage and raised a hand. The lights dimmed in the theater and people scrambled for seating. Everyone was excited, no attempt had been made to hide the dragons when they arrived via charter buses. Everyone had caught sight of the dragons as they arrived and everyone knew that something of unprecedented proportions was in the works.

James waited a moment longer, then he switched on a microphone. "If everyone would please be seated we can begin. I'm sure you all have tons of questions and a great many of them will be answered in the next hour."

After a moment longer everyone was seated. They all wanted to know what was going on.

"Thank you," James said with a broad smile. "First off, I am Lord James Mills of Arran. I am officially attached to this facility as liaison between the British government and the Weyr. You are now in the independent and autonomous territory of Dragon-kind known as Campbeltown Weyr. The Weyr is staffed by a race of intelligent beings and their human companions, there is also a British Army regiment nearby to help guard the attached research facility and the Weyr but make no mistake, this is not considered part of Scotland. This land was ceded to the Weyr last year by the government and with the approval of Her Majesty.

"The nearby research facility and army base are considered to be part of the Weyr. We are merely leasing that space. The British army unit attached to the Weyr helps provide security to the Weyr and the attached research facility. I will state for the record that the research facility is not engaged in any military research. The regiment is here because it was felt that going public with the Weyr would required additional protection at least for the next few years."

James chuckled. "Since this is an independent territory, if you brought your passports along with you, you'll be allowed to get them stamped here. You'll be among the first to have such a privilege. At dinner tonight a table will be set up in the Kitchen Hall where you can get your passport stamped. I'm told that the Weyr stamp is rather striking compared to the usual passport stamps."

James shuffled slightly and he examined the sea of excited faces in front of him. "As you can probably guess this is a major story. In four days time there will be a press conference here which will announce the existence of dragons to the world. You people are here to help with that announcement by setting up your equipment or helping the Weyr with the final preparations.

"I will caution you, especially you people from the press. Her Majesty's government will take a very dim view of any early leaks and if we trace said leak back to you, you will go to prison and your press organization risks it's license to operate here in the UK. Each of your employers agreed to the security requirements before you arrived, and this is why you were made to turn over any mobile phones before you boarded the coaches to come to the Weyr. Until that day, no video may be sent from the Weyr using your communications equipment. Your companies were warned to make sure you had adequate film and editing equipment on hand here so that you could collect as much footage as needed.

"Your employers recognized the opportunity this presented and they expect you to follow our requirements. The secrecy only need be maintained for a few more days.

"For the next few days you will live here in the Weyr, and eat here. We have made space available, it's not luxurious, but it is comfortable. We have a large Kitchen hall, it's marked on your handout, meals are served three times a day. For the next week the Kitchen hall will be staffed twenty four hours a day so you'll be able to get a sandwich or a hot cuppa even at two in the morning. Our clinic is also open twenty four hours a day. Our physician lives here at the Weyr and can be at the clinic within minutes if need be.

"Finally you have all seen the creatures walking about the Weyr or flying overhead. Yes, they are dragons and they have been hiding from us on this planet for many thousands of years. Occasionally one would be seen by humans which explains why dragons exist in mythology.

"Dragons are not animals, they are a thinking, intelligent species. They are capable handling concepts as well as any human. They do speak, but not in the usual manner. While they are capable of a great many vocalizations, they are unable to speak like humans do. They can however speak telepathically.

"It would be best for you if you consider a dragon to be just another person. They can talk to you and each other telepathically but they cannot read your mind. That is an important distinction. They can project their voice into your mind, but what you are thinking is hidden from them. Talk to a dragon like you would talk to any other person. You will find they are curious and eager to help where they can."

Lord Mills paused and took a deep breath. "Now I would like to introduce you to Sir Robert March, Scientific Adviser to Her Majesty's government and lead scientist in charge of research here at the Weyr. He is going to show you a brief video describing dragons and what we are doing here, then he'll answer your questions. We understand that normally that for many of you, your jobs just require you to set up your equipment, but the leadership of the Weyr felt you would be more comfortable if you understood what was happening.

"For you reporters, you will be allowed time to talk to the dragons and some of their companions, but the real live interviews will be handled on the 31st. I suggest using the time between now and then to shoot file footage and just take the time to understand what is happening here. For the most part you will have free run of the Weyr. We do ask that you do not impede the workers erecting the camera platforms or bother the soldiers in the adjoining camp. The base housing is being used by the dragons and their companions and should be considered private property. So unless you have an invitation, please do not enter any of the housing units."

James glanced over to Sir Robert who nodded, he'd handle this group from here while Lord Mills had one particular VIP that he wanted to personally introduce to Harry and the dragons.

Sir Robert started up the video on the large screen projection TV while James left the building.

James quickly exited the building and spotted the limo that was patiently waiting in front of the building. He walked over to the car and opened the door. "Sir, I know you must have a million questions, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to someone that can help answer them."

A gray haired man climbed out of the limousine and James led him towards the Administration building.

A short walk later James led his guest to Harry's office. He knocked and opened the door with a big smile on his face. He had carefully kept the identity of his guest to himself for the past week. The Prime Minister's office had arranged for his help and James knew exactly what this would mean to the Weyr.

Harry was at his desk, typing furiously at his computer when the door opened.

"_Harry! It's the nature smith!"_ exclaimed Chekiath excitedly. The large dragon stood and extended his head into the office to get a closer look.

Sir David Attenborough paused in mid-stride and stared.

"_We know you! You're famous." _The huge dragon was looking at the naturalist, his eyes spinning with almost solid green.

James chuckled and turned to Sir David. "Ah, I suppose I should have warned you, but the dragons are a huge fan of your Life series. The dragons have watched nearly every television show you've done by now."

"My word. I know the Prime Minister said they were telepathic, but... this is incredible," exclaimed Sir David.

"Sir David Attenborough, may I introduce you to The Weyrleader for all the dragons of Earth, Harry Potter, and his bonded dragon Chekiath."

Harry shook from his shock and shot a reproachful look at James before standing and offering a hand. "Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr sir, when the Prime Minister said he would find someone that would help introduce dragons to the world I never imagined..."

Harry trailed off and looked sheepishly. "The dragons aren't the only people to admire your work Sir David."

Attenborough smiled, "Please, just David is fine. As I understand it, we'll be here for the next week or more and I hope to be able to spend time learning more about your friends."

He paused and turned towards Chekiath and looked at him, his practiced eye cataloging a sight he never imagined to see.

"Then please call me Harry," Harry replied, then he glanced over at his dragon and smirked. His dragon was star struck but he wasn't the only one. Harry could hear the sound of wings as dragons from across the Weyr came to peek into his window.

"Chekiath? Do you want to welcome our guest?" Harry said with amusement. Sir David was a very popular television personality among the dragons and he could tell that Chekiath was somewhat shocked to meet him in person.

Chekiath blinked and looked at Harry, then he turned to Sir David. "_The Weyr welcomes you honored smith,"_ Chekiath said. _"May you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

Harry stepped closer to Chekiath and gently scratched behind his ear, knowing it would calm his very excited dragon. As he scratched he looked at Attenborough. "The dragons love your shows. They are fond of comedies and some action programs, but they insisted we buy tapes of all your shows. We even have some of your earlier works. But your segment in Fabulous Animals about dragons had them laughing for a week I'm afraid."

Attenborough winced slightly, Fabulous Animals had been very early in his career and it was one of those shows that no performer liked to be reminded of, especially one with his scientific background. Sir David stepped forward and lifted one hand hesitantly. "May I?"

Harry nodded. "Please, the dragons enjoy having their eye ridges scratched."

Chekiath stretched slightly, putting his head in easy reach. _"I hope we have plenty of time to talk sir,"_ he said. _"We would love to hear more about your animal friends."_

"And I am going to enjoy learning more about you my large friend," Sir David replied in a bemused tone as he scratched Cheki's eye ridges.

"I've been told that the Prime Minister personally briefed you a week ago?" Harry asked.

Sir David nodded. "Yes, although at the time I confess it sounded more like a cross between a science fiction novel and a bad fairy tale."

"Harry, if you don't need me any further, I'll return to help Sir Robert?" James said.

Harry nodded. "Thank you James. Lee Jordan and Wing four will be assembling in front of the theater in a bit so your crowd can mingle with the dragons."

James nodded and walked from the office.

"Did anyone mention how the dragons name people?" asked Harry.

"No, I don't think it was mentioned," Attenborough replied.

Harry grinned. "Dragons are surprisingly literal when it comes to language, so if you think for even a moment that you are misunderstanding a dragon, or the dragon is misunderstanding you, then that is likely the case. Such language usage like 'glued to the telly' caused one dragon to protest that his rider had been glued to the machine."

Harry smiled as he recalled Draco's Sinnath complaining that someone was abusing his rider.

"Additionally dragons seldom use a given name for someone that is not a rider. Chekiath will call me Harry, but he'll call the Prime Minister the lord holder and Sir Robert is a master smith. They are titles they remember from their time before they came to our planet. Other people, like Major Atkins, our security chief, gets a more descriptive name of Brown Runner, because of the color of her hair and the fact that she and I jog around the Weyr every morning.

"So don't be concerned or offended if the dragons refer to you using some invented name instead of your own. It is a cultural thing we think."

Attenborough nodded thoughtfully, he had been briefed on the dragons and knew they held racial memories going back thousands of generations. Prime Minister Major had privately briefed him on the economic potential of the dragons and told him that certain aspects of dragons, such as their incredible memories wouldn't be explained in detail to the general public.

It took him a moment to understand why Sir Robert earned the title of master smith, then he recalled the history of the profession in society. Many of the earliest inventors started out by being smiths of one form or another. A Master Smith was a fine title for the nation's chief scientific adviser.

"I don't think that will be a problem Harry," he replied slowly, then he glanced up at Chekiath in amazement again. "They could call me Fuzzy Wuzzy for all I care. Just the thought of meeting another intelligent life form that can communicate gives me shivers."

Chekiath turned to Harry and said privately. _"Does he really want us to call him Fuzzy Wuzzy? It is a __most unusual name. Most dragons call him the Nature Smith."_

Harry chuckled and shook his head, then he turned to Attenborough. "This is what I meant. Chekiath thought you wanted him to be called Fuzzy Wuzzy. The dragons have been watching your shows and they have been calling you the Nature Smith for months now."

Attenborough's eyes widened for a moment then he started to laugh a deep belly laugh. "I suppose that would have been awkward indeed. Nature Smith is a wonderful title to be granted by such a magnificent being."

He bowed to Chekiath. "Thank you, I have been called many things in my day, some quite disagreeable, but I am honored to be a Nature Smith."

"Cheki, why don't we show Sir David around? I think he would like to see the Weyr," Harry said.

Chekiath stood and turned to face the outer door. With a practiced step he activated the door and it slowly lifted out of the way. Once it was clear the large dragon stepped out side.

Harry motioned towards the exit. "If you'll follow me, just stay on the walkway," he said, then Harry walked over to the narrow wooden walkway that kept him off of Chekiath's little bed unlike the dragon stall in his quarters this was designed to only fit one dragon and Chekiath was pretty cramped in the space. "This isn't Chekiath's main bed, but he does like to nap here. So I try not to walk on it. He can't fit into the office but he helps me plan our operations from his spot."

Sir David followed Harry outside and then turned back to look at the building and door. Chekiath stepped on a different pressure pad to close the door. Near the pressure switch was a more conventional human sized switch which Sir David assumed acted just like the pressure switch.

Harry pointed to the sandy area where Chekiath normally lay. "That is a typical dragon bed for our dragons. Under the layer of sand is a layer of gravel that has been heated. Thanks to their unique abilities the gravel continues to radiate a gentle heat making the bed very comfortable for them. Dig down about a foot to the gravel and you'll find a layer of softly glowing pebbles. I only wish that all of the dragons had such beds."

"_Someday they will Harry, you will see to that,"_ Chekiath offered.

Harry smiled and nodded. "I hope so mate, I sure intend to try."

Sir David turned back to Harry. "How many dragons are there worldwide?"

Harry smiled. "When we did our first census there were roughly eighty six hundred dragons. It's closer to nine thousand now. At the same time that we did that census we had less than forty riders in a single Weyr. Now we have three Weyrs in three countries and roughly two hundred and sixty riders. We believe the planet can comfortably support ten thousand bonded dragons, and that is our goal, to eventually have ten thousand riders. It will take decades to reach that point, as there are still many non-bonded dragons who have their own lives to live."

"The dragons have the ability to control their egg laying, so the Weyrs without riders have dropped their population growth to nearly zero. They are all eagerly awaiting their turn to become a manned Weyr like Campbeltown. As to the manned Weyrs, there are two egg laying times per year, in November and again in February.

"We've been restricting each manned Weyr to roughly forty eggs per laying. The dragons could provide much more, but training more riders is a problem. Right now we're training one hundred and twenty riders twice a year, and that number will increase with each Weyr we open. Training is going to be an issue in the future that's why we've set limits on the population growth."

Sir David nodded thoughtfully, ten thousand dragons wasn't an overly large amount, but he knew that the higher up the food chain one went, the rarer the predator. He shook his head in anger at himself. Dragons were predators without a doubt, but he chastised himself for trying to apply animal kingdom rules to intelligent beings. Humans were predators too, and there were nearly five billion of them on the planet!

Harry led Sir David and Chekiath towards Hangar seven first. There were a few dragons in the infirmary and it would give Attenborough a better understanding of some of the problems they faced. Harry desperately wanted the man to understand the issues they wrestled with. In short he wanted Sir David on their side as a friend to the dragons. Harry was grateful to the Prime Minister's office, they really came through for the Weyr by securing Sir David's help. Now Harry wanted to turn the man into an advocate for the Weyr if he could.

Harry paused in front of the door to the building. "This is our dragon infirmary. We currently have two official Weyrhealers and nine riders that are studying to be Weyrhealers. When not involved in healing a dragon all of them work together trying to improve their healing abilities and knowledge," he said, then he pulled the door open. His voice dropped as they entered. "Healing a dragon is a difficult task. For one thing they're armor plated, making surgery very difficult. Also we know so little about dragons and their illnesses. Right now we're limited mostly to some dentistry, and attempting to heal wounds or setting bones.

"Oh and we had one case of a bad cold that nearly burned the building down. Poor Heeth would blast the wall with fire every time she sneezed. We are just lucky that a dragon has to consciously want to make something everglow," Harry said with a grimace, then he opened the door letting them both enter.

"Everglow?" pressed Sir David.

Harry paused and turned to look at Sir David. "You know about the Hot Rocks, how the dragons can somehow make a rock that retains the heat?"

Sir David nodded.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Well the dragon needs to decide consciously whether she's burning down a building, or setting it to radiate heat like a hot rock. Our Public Affairs officer coined the phrase everglow for anything that has been set radiating heat like a hot rock. There are some limitations of course, they can't create an everglow person, or even an everglow tree, the temperatures are just too high for those sort of objects. But some forms of rock or metals can be made into everglows.

"We have some people looking at creating everglow steel rods to be embedded into roadways to melt snow and ice. Sir Robert claims we have only scratched the surface of what we can do."

"My god," muttered Sir David. "It's incredible." It was becoming apparent to him that the Weyr represented change on a massive scale.

"_It's nice,"_ Cheki added, _"but we prefer to help people more directly like we did with the Orkney."_

Harry grinned and affectionately thumped his dragon. "We'll get plenty of chances for that I'm sure. But in the meantime all these things help us grow Cheki."

Harry turned back to the door and stepped inside then he pressed a button on the wall that opened the huge sliding doors so Chekiath could enter. Sir David looked around while they waited for the doors to open. Nearby was a dragon who seemed to be connected to a metal frame. In front of the dragon was a cart with a projection television. It was projecting a large block of text against a wall. Every so often the dragon would nudge a large red paddle and the text would change.

Harry turned and spotted Sir David's interest. He led the man towards Lornth's stall. "This one of our few dragon readers. We have six in the Weyr, including this one. Each reader is connected to the Weyr network and can access a library of books we've purchased. The readers are all handmade and there are more on order, but this one is dedicated to the infirmary for the dragons here. There is a second more advanced model which allows the dragons the ability to write whatever they want. We have only have two of those so far. I'm sure you'll see it in action at Hangar two in the coming days.

He gestured and Sir David stepped closer looking curiously at the dragon hooked to the weird framework. "Lornth broke his wings rather badly in an... er incident. Shall I introduce you?"

Attenborough nodded eagerly. "Hello Lornth, how are you today?"

Lornth turned from his book and his eyes started to slowly spin with green streaks. _"I am comfortable Weyrleader thank you for asking. May tells me that next week I will have some friends visiting."_

Lornth turned to Attenborough. _"Welcome to our Weyr Nature Smith. May you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

The large dragon paused and looked at one of his wings before looking back. _"Well the other dragon's __wings. I don't think mine are ready for that yet. We all very much enjoy your shows."_

Attenborough blinked in surprise, then he took in the complex network of wires, pulleys and steel tubing that held the large wings in place. "No I don't think you are," he agreed with a gentle smile. "How did you become injured Lornth?"

Harry coughed lightly and Attenborough looked at him. "David, the Weyr has been involved in some actions that are covered under the official secrets act. Lornth here was injured during one of those actions. Some terrorists were looking to attack a school full of children and he was part of the group of dragons that defended it. Lornth was the only one seriously injured. Regrettably we are unable to speak more about that. Our British friends have asked that we keep it secret and we've agreed. It would not do to give the terrorists any more notoriety than they already have.

"As for Lornth, each wing received multiple breaks, but I've been told none of the joints were damaged. So we have high hopes that he'll fly again."

Attenborough nodded, he had been briefed on the secret aspect of this job, with that understanding he turned back to the large dragon and asked Lornth another question about his treatment. A door opened and Harry noted Issac enter carrying his medical kit. Seeing that Attenborough and Lornth were conversing, he decided to see what brought Issac to the infirmary today.

He caught up with the Weyr doctor four stalls away with May who was bending over and pointing at Cetath's injury showing him something. May and Issac were having a hushed conversation that Harry couldn't make out, but he could see Cetath's injury looked red and swollen and a foul smelling liquid oozed between the stitches.

"Is there a problem?" a voice said quietly from behind him. He turned to see Attenborough standing nearby looking concerned.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Cetath here was involved in the rescue of a Royal Navy Helicopter and he received a deep injury from one of the blades. The aircraft had crashed in the channel and Cetath pulled it from the water. He didn't understand that the blades were dangerous until it was too late."

May knelt in the sand and began cutting the steel wire she had used to suture the wound. Issac held a large plastic tube in his hands. With several stitches removed the amount of liquid oozing from the wound increased. Issac pushed a bucket under the wound and let it drain into the bucket.

"Now push gently May. Don't be afraid to use some force, just go slow," he urged.

May nodded and pushed slowly on the swollen area, increasing the flow of liquid. "Are you sure about this Issac? I don't want to hurt Cetath."

"It works in people," he replied. "Just relieving the pressure will be a comfort to Cetath."

Finally May knelt back on her heels and Issac handed her the tube. "Now just like we practiced May. Insert one end of the tube into the abscess and add just a few stitches and a loop around the drain tube to hold it in place," Issac said softly. May carefully slid the tube into the open area in the wound and Issac passed her a needle with a silver wire attached.

A hand touched Harry's shoulder and he looked up from what May and Issac were doing. "Dan?"

Dan Granger motioned him away from where May was working. "Come over this way Harry, I don't think May needs you hovering right now," Dan said.

Harry nodded and motioned for Attenborough to follow him. "Dan, I'd like you to meet Sir David Attenborough, he's going to be providing commentary and background information for our press conference."

Dan smiled broadly. "It is a great pleasure, I have admired your work for years," he said, offering his hand.

"David, this is doctor Daniel Granger, Weyr dentist for both human and dragon-kind and part time tutor for our riders. Dan is also a member of the Weyr Council who help advise me in running the Weyr," Harry said.

Once they had greeted each other Harry glanced back towards Cetath's stall. "What is happening there Dan?"

Dan frowned and followed his gaze. "Cetath has developed an abscess, most likely because May stitched him up on the pitching deck of an aircraft carrier. It's not the most sterile of environments. Issac is helping by showing May how to drain it and treat it. I think they caught it early enough, but it has to be watched. Abscesses can be nasty infections to deal with."

Harry nodded worriedly and turned to Attenborough. "One of our problems is that we know so little about dragons. Healing the dragons is very difficult for us now, ten years from now, perhaps it will be easier. Doctor Sheppard, our Weyr doctor says that we're barely out of the herbal medicine phase when it comes to treating dragons."

"Is anything being done about that?" asked Attenborough.

Harry smiled broadly. "Our American Weyr is starting up an effort to understand dragon anatomy. With the help of NASA and the American National Institute of Health they hope to have a basic idea of the anatomy in two years. There's talk about retrofitting an several industrial machines so that they can get images. Right now however they do have the largest x-ray machine and are producing a detailed skeletal image. One of our healer trainees is working with them to provide names for every part."

"Is that all the Americans are doing?"

Dan snorted and tried to hold back his laughter. "Hardly," he said, then he glanced at Harry who nodded to him.

Attenborough turned his gaze on the dentist. "Asides from the biological tests, there's an effort to use hot rocks to power industrial kilns. Another group are looking at the concept of a small hot air furnace where hot rocks would provide the heat. The Americans are going crazy with ideas. As a member of the Weyr council I can tell you, barely a week goes by without receiving a proposal to research something pertaining to the hot rocks."

Dan turned back to Harry. "Speaking of that Harry, did you see the proposal to use dragon scales for heat shield material from NASA's Ames Research center?"

Harry frowned, he had seen an email from Dan along with the attached proposal from the California research center. "I did, but wouldn't that put too much of a demand on our supply of scales?" Harry had visions of someone trying to use the scales to shield the space shuttle and even he knew that was huge!

Dan shook his head. "Hardly, we're not talking a lot of scales and even if the idea is used, it wouldn't even put a dent in our supply. Mostly they are talking about testing it on a small scale. If the scales prove useful they may begin an effort to reproduce them artificially."

Harry shook his head and pulled his notebook from a large pocket and made a note to himself. "We'll talk about this later I think Dan, but do tell James to make sure it's on the council meeting list. There's just too much going on this week to worry about it now."

Dan clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Good enough, but I think it's worth letting them try."

May and Issac approached them and Harry looked at May anxiously. "May?"

She glanced away from Issac and stopped in her tracks. David Attenborough was a very well known celebrity and unlike the dragons and the wizards, she had grown up watching his globe traveling nature shows.

"May?" Harry repeated.

She tore her eyes away from Attenborough to look at Harry dumbly.

"How is Cetath?" he pressed.

"Oh Issac taught me how to put in a drain. We've pumped him full of antibiotics and drained the abscess. Outside of that, now all we can do is watch it carefully. He's on a pain reliever and we've given him something to lower his fever."

Harry looked up with interest. "That's new."

Issac stepped forward. "It was my idea. When Cetath was injured I calculated a dosage of over the counter aspirin based on body weight. We halved that as a precaution and tried it. When he had no ill effects we gave him a full dose. Granted I had to empty fourteen bottles of tablets and grind them into a powder, but I think it will work. I mixed it with twenty pounds of hamburger meat."

Issac grinned, "I had James contact several local chemists and put in an order for several cases of aspirin. At fourteen bottles for a dose, we'll need a lot of the stuff just keep up with Cetath's needs. If we need to stock this for regular use we better make arrangements with a manufacturer for shipments in bulk powder form."

Harry nodded and scribbled another note in his book, then turned to Attenborough. "Its a learning process, every day we pick up something new. May is compiling a book on healing and rarely does a day go by when she isn't adding something to it. In fact quite a few of us are building books.

"One rider is interested in psychology and has started looking into dragon psychology. It's very different than our own," Harry added.

"That should come as no surprise Harry. The dragons DNA is so radically different," Issac offered.

Attenborough blinked and stared at Issac. "When the PM said they were of extra-terrestrial origin I was skeptical but you're saying the DNA is different?"

"Dragons have a higher concentration of heavy metals in their blood, and there is little in their DNA that resembles anything alive on this planet. When you consider that dragons have been here since the middle of the late Pleistocene epoch, the amount of adaptation to our environment has been just enough for them to survive. Everything about them screams of an extra-terrestrial origin.

"The dragons do have something very similar to DNA, but chemically it's not exactly the same stuff. We're not even sure our standard tests are working correctly because the DNA isn't the same. When we compensated for the Boron in their chemistry we did find something that looked like our DNA. If the tests are to believed the base pairs are all wrong and their seems to be some extra nucleotides that are completely new to us." Issac said firmly.

"And then there is the telepathy which is unique to dragons alone," Harry added.

Attenborough nodded, then he turned to Chekiath who had been following them. "I don't know if anyone has said this, but I for one am very glad you came to our world."

"_Harry has often said that, but thank you. We are looking forward to working with people,"_ Chekiath replied.

"That's one of the reasons why you were asked to come here early David," Harry said softly. He reached up and stroked Cheki's neck and the huge dragon craned his head to look at his rider fondly. "The Weyr needs to send several important messages to the world. Most importantly that we are not a threat, and the fact that the dragons truly want to help mankind."

Harry glanced up at his dragon and smiled.

"There is a terrible downside to the instant notoriety and fame we'll earn. The dragons and for a large part my riders, don't see it. We will have people wanting to use us to sell their products, or be on their television shows or just use us for their own gains. Some people will hate us outright, and some will fear us and call the dragons demons because they believe only humans can have souls. Some nations will look at the hot rocks we can produce with anger because it will erode their oil sales and others will clamor for access to the rocks. Some people will make up with minds and be against us simply because they don't understand us.

"It worries me. Dragons are incapable of lying and while they are good at reading people, I still worry that they will be taken advantage of," he said softly. "No matter how hard I try to prevent that, I know I can't prevent it all."

He turned back to Attenborough who seemed mesmerized by the site of Harry and Chekiath together. "Once upon a time intelligent dragons, had intelligent partners. The dragons tell us that they were made to be bonded with humanoids like us. Now they have partners again and all they want in return for our respect and friendship is a chance to earn their place in human society as equals. That's what we need your help with Sir David. Properly released information with no special bias, just the unvarnished truth. I admit I do not know your career as well as the others, but I am told that you have a reputation of integrity and honesty. We're hoping you would help us."

"_We would really like your help Nature Smith. Even we can see your passion for explaining the world. Well we are a part of that world too,"_ Chekiath said.

Harry smiled and nodded to his dragon. He couldn't have put it any better. The humans surrounding Attenborough held their breaths waiting and hoping for a positive reaction. Sir David didn't know it, but Harry was sure his help would be vital in promoting the dragons in the coming years.

Attenborough looked around at the dragons he could see. The hangar doors were still open from Chekiath's entrance and in the distance he could see a large group of dragons in formation and people clustered around them. He didn't know it at the time but he was watching one of the wings assembling for their weekly flight drills.

Finally he turned back to Harry and smiled. "How could I not help? I can think of no greater honor."

Chekiath and the other dragons nearby, even Cetath, thrummed with approval. They knew they could count on the Nature Smith.

**Campbeltown Weyr, July 31st...**

The day dawned sunny with a light cloud cover. From Harry's vantage point nearly one thousand feet above the Weyr that this day was not like any other. Every building now flew a dragon flag, and the Weyr seemed to sparkle. The buildings had been repainted, all the lawns trimmed, even the Weyr housing had been cleaned until they shone.

Below Harry could see a long line of buses queuing up at the entrance while the British army on loan from the new base next door checked invitations and handled external security. Inside the Weyr and at the gate proper the security was all low key. Each bus would be boarded and someone would check the invitations. No weapons were visible, although they were there, in the nearby security building.

The new SAS regiment that had moved in was currently patrolling all of the land surrounding the Weyr. If anyone came within three miles of the Weyr, they'd know about it.

The aurors on loan from the Ministry of Magic were disillusioned and under orders not to interfere unless lives were in danger or they caught someone using magic. Harry had issued very strict orders to his magical riders, they were to leave their wands in their quarters for the day.

That resulted in a bit of good-natured grumbling and some teasing from the normal riders about having to do things the normal way.

Young Frances Sheppard, Issac's little girl, and the only possible source of accidental magic, was off with her Mum on a Weyr paid holiday to Euro Disney for three days. Before that she had spent a few days with Issac's parents in the country. When she left, she very seriously promised Chekiath that she'd try and get Mickey Mouse's autograph for him.

The plan for the day was very simple. The guests would be shuttled through the Weyr theater for Lee's video and a second video created by Sir Robert's staff, then they would re-board the buses for the short trip to the science buildings and a guided tour of the working power plant as well as some of the ongoing experiments. From there they would be taken to Hangar Three where a picnic style buffet had been set up.

Even with the diplomats being shown the videos elsewhere it wouldn't be until early afternoon before everyone had cycled through the videos and tour and had a chance to eat.

Interviewing stations had been set up in front of Hangar two, and the dragon type writer had been moved into an area of Hangar two where a dragon could use the large pressure sensitive keyboard to answer questions put to them by the reporters.

People would be released from their tour of the science center to walk the distance back to the hangars. It was just a way of slowing and controlling the mob James had explained to Harry.

"_You see, we need to pace things a bit. Between lunch and talking to the dragons we expect that most of the reporters won't be ready for anything else until one in the afternoon. The Prime Minister and the US President will fly in around around noon and Her Majesty will arrive by car a little later. I've planned for a private meeting and lunch with them before we go out to the stage for the press announcement."_

Harry shook from his revery and he squeezed his knees slightly and leaned towards the left. "Let's make one more aerial sweep, then we'll go join up with the folks at Hangar three."

Chekiath rumbled with mirth. _"You just want to delay meeting all those people as long as possible. Aren't you excited? All the dragons are!"_

Harry smiled at his dragon. His excitement was clear in his voice. "I am Cheki, but today brings us new problems. I know everyone is excited because it means we'll be able to visit friends and family openly, but it also means other things, some of them aren't so good."

"_Responsibility,"_ Chekiath replied solemnly. _"It is important Harry, but sometimes you have to laugh. You don't laugh enough. What you need to do is get the girls in your tub and let loose with a big fart. The bubbles tickle. Its very funny."_

Harry shook his head. Somethings dragons will never understand. He agreed that farts could be very funny, but ripping one loose in the tub while the girls were with him? No that would funny to him, until the girls got over their shock, then it would become painful.

The buildup to this day had been hard on Harry. As the day approached he could feel his bond between Chekiath and the other dragons fluctuating wildly with their emotions. He had to really hold tight onto his emotions to keep himself from becoming overwhelmed by it all. The dragons around the world were seething with excitement. To many of them this was the true end of the time of the beasts, this was the day that mankind came to know about them and they could ascend to their rightful place as humanity's partner.

Harry gave the Weyr and surrounding countryside another glance but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. Harry directed Chekiath to land in front of Hangar three. The huge dragon banked sharply and lost altitude quickly. He leveled out just in time to come to a gentle landing next to Spath who was curled up in the summer sun, just basking.

"You look very comfortable Spath," Harry called from his perch on Cheki.

Spath raised his head and his eyes twirled with pleasure. _"The sun is warm today. All over the world the dragons are thrilled about today. It is a good day to enjoy the warm sunshine. It is a good day to be a dragon."_

Harry chuckled and slid lightly to the ground. He took a quick look and spotted Ronan not far away. He waved his second over.

Ronan turned and said something to Karen who smiled and reached up to lightly kiss his cheek before walking away with a bit of an exaggerated swish. Ronan watched, entranced for a moment, then he shook his head and joined Harry who smirked at him. "Looks like Karen is happy this morning," Harry said teasingly.

Ronan grinned. "She's not the only one. The dragon's mood has infected the entire Weyr. Even the elves are celebrating, sort of. I stopped in the lounge earlier. It's not part of the tour and the elves have decided to use it for their hideout today. Did you know that they are running a James Bond marathon or that they really love when he blows stuff up?"

Harry blinked in surprise. "So that's why Dobby asked if he could borrow some tapes from our video collection. Well that will keep them occupied for the day. And our other guests?"

Prince William and Prince Harry had arrived the same day as the others and the Weyr had kept them busy helping care for the dragons as well as learning to fly on a pair of the non-bonded dragons. Spath privately informed Harry that while neither boy was capable of impressing, they had made some close friends among the dragons and could eventually develop a relationship along the lines of what Sirius had with Norendrath.

Harry told Spath to keep that information private for now, but he would make it known to their father.

Ronan's grin broadened. "They know they shouldn't be seen until their father arrives, so they are watching the Bond movies with the elves."

The princes, being part of the royal family, had been briefed about magic a week before they arrived at the Weyr by their father. Both boys had been schooled long ago in the issue of security and secrets and understood why magic was secret for now.

Harry chuckled. "It figures." Prince Harry had turned out to be the more adventurous of the pair and Harry knew he would enjoy the movies. He had seen a few when they were played in the Kitchen hall, but personally never felt the need to bring them home to watch. May enjoyed a good romantic comedy and Hermione loved her historical dramas, but Harry never really developed much taste for television except for the occasional documentary or show that his ladies insisted he watch.

"_Weyrleader?"_

Harry blinked and looked around in surprise. _"Trath? Is something wrong?"_

"_No. May just asked me to tell you she and the Master Healer have finished examining Cetath's injury again. They believe the sickness is going away."_

Harry shot Ronan a grin. His second grinned back, everyone had been worried about Cetath's injury. "Excellent news Trath, thank May and remind her that we'll need her help today. Unless there is an emergency she can join us in front of Hangar three."

"_I will remind her again Weyrleader. She is relieved now that she knows Cetath is getting better."_

"We all are relieved Trath. Tell her I said 'well done'," Harry replied.

"Good news for a good day," Ronan offered. Cetath's infection had been stubborn and everyone had been worrying about it. There was a growing fear that it was going to get worse. Twice in the past few days Issac recommending changing the antibiotic medication. It had been the one cloud on the horizon building up to day, and it had been a very dark cloud.

Harry nodded. "True, now all we have to do is get through today."

Ronan glanced at his watch. "The first buses left the theater over an hour ago. I expect the tour of the power plant and laboratories to let out any moment."

All of the riders had a dry run yesterday in which they sat through the videos and were given their first look at the inside of the test power plant. Harry came away suitably impressed by the dazzling lights and shiny consoles, but more importantly he came away with a better understanding of the process. It finally dawned on him that in the muggle world hot rocks presented a major boon because heat equals energy. And muggle society needed sustainable, renewable energy.

The video created by the science group depicted just a small handful of possible uses that left Harry and most of the riders stunned. He had known about some of the uses and relied on people like Millicent and Wayne to inform him, which they had. What they hadn't told him about, was alternative ideas that were being generated by Sir Robert's people. This wasn't really an oversight on Millicent or Wayne's part, these ideas were not being worked on by anyone because they just lacked the manpower.

Sir Robert and his team of senior scientists and engineers had put together a wish list of things to research. There were dozens of potential hot rock applications from the serious to the downright silly. And many of them could earn significant funds for the Weyrs. Harry personally thought the hot tub heating unit might be very useful, in his mind it was no different than the hot springs at Disko.

Sir Robert and Lord Mills had a plan in place that would allow for the Weyr to hire people to research these ideas once the power plants started going into production. The new research group would be owned entirely by the Weyr and funded by the Weyr. It was an idea promoted by Lord Mills to make the Weyr self sufficient and one that Sir Robert agreed with wholeheartedly.

A noise caught Harry's attention and he looked over towards the sectioned off part of the Weyr to see people pouring through the gate.

"Show time people, look smart," he announced, then he brushed some imaginary dirt from his dress uniform and straightened this beret.

The dragons from the manned wings lined up in front of the hangar, inside, the non-bonded dragons waited anxiously. Signs were posted asking people to avoid stepping into any dragon stall and there were riders that would circulate in the hangar, but generally people would be allowed free access to the dragons.

Harry smiled when he saw the crowd had been grouped the way he had specified. The survivors from the HMS Orkney and their families were at the forefront of the crowd. The Orkney incident had been explained in the video produced by the science staff. Harry wanted the survivors and their families because their lives had been impacted by the assistance of the dragons. It also put a very human face on the image the dragons were hoping to convey to the world.

Harry watched as the families led the way, spurred on by the excitement of the children who wanted desperately to talk to a dragon. He sighed and Chekiath lifted his head and turned to look at him.

"_What's wrong Harry, the children seem very excited to see us,"_ the dragon asked.

Harry nodded to himself. "Yeah I know mate, but watching them now and suddenly I thought it is a shame that Albus couldn't be here for this. He would have enjoyed it."

Spath lifted his head and looked at Harry. _"He would have and if Green Lady is right, then he is here now, watching over us. It's strange, we have so many memories from before the time of the beasts, but never in all of those memories did we think of what happens after. Green Lady says we all go to a pleasant place to be with all those that have gone on before us. I find that comforting."_

Eddie Took was the 'Green Lady' Spath referred to, having earned her name because she always wore something green, even if it was just a hair ribbon. She had been to the Weyr on numerous occasions since Albus' passing and the dragons enjoyed talking to her. She hadn't exactly converted anyone yet, but she was rather close.

Her message of tolerance and gentle love found plenty of support among the riders and the dragons. Eddie's acceptance of the dragons as people put her and her faith in a prime position. Once they allowed other denominations in, they would have to do the same or find themselves being ignored.

Chekiath turned and crooned softly at the ancient dragon. Harry grimaced, he knew Spath's time was coming to an end also and he dreaded that day. "Hopefully that won't be for a long time," Harry said softly. "Your Weyr and your dragons need you still Spath."

Chekiath bobbed his head in agreement and the ancient dragon eyed both of them fondly. He wasn't a product of a human/dragon bond and he did wish things could have been different for his life but generally he was content. Chekiath was growing beyond what Spath was capable of. Under the influences of their riders all of the bonded dragons were growing to form relationships based on emotions instead of instincts. Spath was shocked to discover that the bonded dragons not only respected him, but loved him, it was their riders that were changing dragon-kind, just like the dragons were changing their riders.

Ronan nodded grimly at Harry then he pointed to where a young girl who was maybe ten stood, nose to nose with Mariah's Buth. The little girl said something and Harry felt his own spirits lift as she reached out to gently touch the dragon. Behind her stood a young woman with a toddler in her arms and her husband, wearing a Royal Navy uniform. One arm was in a sling and Harry wondered if he had suffered a lasting injury from his ordeal in the North Sea.

Several of Sir Robert's staff along with some of Major Atkins' people ushered the press party past the Orkney families, they were heading to Hangar two where the dragon writer was set up. Momnarth and Norendrath would be holding a press conference while Gordon Chapman's Kirteth would operate the writer.

The families would make their way over there in a bit, but for now, this was a chance to allow the survivors to meet their saviors. Harry had been very specific in regards to the Orkney people. He didn't want the press hounding them. It had been decided that a representative from the British Admiralty and the commanding officer of the Orkney would issue a joint statement to the press later today after the official announcement but no press would be allowed to pressure any of the families into giving interviews.

Harry turned when Chekiath started to rumble contentedly and nearly broke out in laughter. Three different children were scratching him and he was enjoying it immensely.

Seeing that Cheki was in good hands, he stepped over to where two sets of parents watched their children with a mixture of awe and a touch of anxiety. "You needn't worry, the dragons love children and wouldn't dream of doing anything that hurts them," he said softly.

One man, an officer from his uniform, turned to Harry and quickly noted the Order of St. Georges pinned to Harry's breast. "You're the Weyrleader they told us about?" he gasped, then just as quickly he snapped off a textbook salute.

Harry nodded to the man. "We don't stand much on formality here..." Harry looked at the man's uniform but he was unable to determine his rank.

"Lieutenant Cavanaugh, second engineering officer," offered Cavanaugh. He was a young man, in his late twenties.

Harry smiled. "Thank you, I'm afraid I'm not very knowledgeable about Royal Navy uniforms and ranks. Are you and your men well Mr. Cavanaugh?"

"It's been a bit rough," Cavanaugh said softly. A young blond woman stepped up and slipped her hand in his.

"We're fine thanks to you and your dragons," she said. "Mike here might have a nightmare now and then, but at least he's alive to have them. And Anna will get to grow up knowing her daddy." She glanced at a small girl who seemed to be holding a very serious conversation with Chekiath.

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable, but he tried to push that aside. "We're just glad we were able to help. After today we'll be able to openly help like we did with the Orkney. The dragons are very excited about that."

The sound of a trio of helicopters approaching distracted Harry. He quickly turned to Cavanaugh again. "Excuse me but I must go, please feel free to mingle with the riders and dragons. They can answer any of your questions. In a short while a catered lunch will be served here in front of Hangar three."

He bowed slightly and walked quickly towards the helipad. Overhead one large helicopter and two fast attack helicopters were circling around before beginning their approach.

"_Wing four, assemble at the Helipad,"_ he sent mentally. They had been waiting nearby for just that order. Harry had chosen Wing four to do most of the introductions mainly because Lee and Mariah were the most comfortable in dealing with people. When Harry assigned Lee to the Wing he allowed Mariah to transfer over as well. Wing four now had six others that were actively helping Lee in the newly formed Weyr Public Affairs office.

Harry was pleased to see Lee Jordan back in charge of his wing after his long recovery. His second, Abbey Rhodes was slated to get one of the new wings from the next hatching. She was busy training up a replacement to assume her slot in Wing four as wing second.

The large helicopter flared and gently touched down. Harry grabbed his beret, pressing it against his head to keep it from flying away. A security detail made of both US Secret Service and the Diplomatic protection group surrounded the helicopter, looking outward.

Harry smirked, the US security detail were heavily armed and looking very uncomfortable to be surrounded by so many dragons.

"Hooorah!"

Harry glanced up and laughed, Wing One from Condron Weyr had arrived with Skip and Kat. He glanced at his watch, Wing One from Maziang was also due to arrive any moment, but he specifically asked for Skip and Kat to be here to greet their president. He watched with approval as the Condron dragons landed in nearly perfect formation right next to Lee's wing. The American's wore a uniform that was identical to the British except for the coloring.

Campbeltown had the dragon silhouette patch in black and white, just like the flag they flew. The Americans opted for a red dragon against a blue background with a white border. It was the only difference between the two uniforms. Each Weyr was allowed to choose their own signature colors.

Harry glanced towards the BBC television tower that had been set up to transmit signals to their main office. Currently several men occupied a platform just below the top of the tower. Harry knew they were a mix of technicians and security personnel.

Nearby in a mobile trailer Sir David Attenborough added commentary to the tape that would be broadcast after today's press conference. Attenborough had spent the last four days talking to people and shooting hundreds of minutes of footage while a team of video editors from the BBC worked around the clock to distill it down to a two hour special program that would be aired in two parts today.

And he wasn't the only reporter that would be uploading hours of video to their parent networks in a short while. Nearby nearly thirty additional large broadcast trucks owned by foreign networks were standing by, their satellite dishes already aimed and ready to begin transmitting. All in all it looked like something one would expect to see outside the stadium hosting the Soccer World Cup.

Harry had promised to Sir David that in the coming years he would open the Weyr to a more in-depth program, but he wanted to wait until they had more information to share with the world about the dragons. Harry was hoping the efforts to study and understand the dragons would pay off with enough information to make treating them easier and give more information to the public about dragons in general.

When Mildred O'Connor heard about the deal Harry had made she convinced him to offer a similar deal to an American network. Right now it was tenuous, but in principle the Weyr agreed to open their doors to a documentary crew from both the BBC and the American National Geographic Society. The deal had been brokered with the representatives on hand and still had to be approved by people higher up in their respective organizations, but everyone was confident it would be approved.

"Hello Skip, Kat, you both look well," Harry said to the pair. Kat blushed slightly and moved a little closer to Skip.

"Thank you Harry," Skip said with a broad smile. He looked down at his diminutive co-weyrleader and placed a hand on her shoulder. Clearly there had been some progress between the two of them on creating a working team and perhaps more. "We wouldn't have missed this for the world. Our dragons are practically dancing with excitement."

"_Harry, the dignitaries are starting to arrive,"_ Chekiath announced suddenly.

Harry nodded, he had expected them earlier, but they had been taken to a private screening of the videos elsewhere, then brought to the Weyr in a motorcade of limousines. This second group included nearly every Foreign Consul or Ambassador currently in the United Kingdom.

Harry saw the helicopter had finally stopped its blades. He muttered mostly to himself. "Shall we do this?" He stepped forward and one of the security detail slid open the door to the Helicopter. Skip and Kat fell into position just behind Harry. He stopped and waited while the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the President of the United States stepped from the machine. He knew that the families of both men were part of the motorcade now entering through the front gate.

John Major spotted Harry, then he saw the Condron Weyrleaders behind him. His smile broadened, he didn't know Condron would be showing up today, but in retrospect it made sense politically and diplomatically. By having them here Harry was honoring the Americans as one of their partners.

He suspected that Maziang would arrive in a bit, but knew their presence would be kept low key. The Weyrleader would announce the existence of a Weyr in Asia, but would not reveal in which country it resided.

Harry stepped forward and offered his hand to Major. As he did every dragon in Wing four and Condron dipped their heads. "Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr. We are honored you could join us today. As our dragons say, may you find peace and shelter under our wings."

Major smiled and shook Harry's hand, then Harry turned and offered the same greeting to President Clinton. Harry signaled to Skip and Kat and they approached. He quietly introduced them to Major and Clinton. The US President's face broke into a huge smile when he realized that Harry had invited the American Weyrleaders to today's event.

"I greatly hope to be able to visit the Weyr in the future," Clinton said.

"We would be honored Mr. President and the dragons would be thrilled to meet with you sir," Kat replied. Even though she was an American witch, the American magical society was more closely tied to the muggle society unlike what had existed for the British until recently.

Skip nodded mutely and Harry had to fight off a smile. Kat may be the more passive of the pair of Weyrleaders, but Skip was clearly shocked into silence by meeting the President.

"Her Majesty is expected to arrive in about thirty minutes," Harry said. "In the meantime with your permission I would like to introduce some of the riders from Condron and Campbeltown. Once the Queen arrives we'll have a private luncheon before making the press statement."

"Then by all means let us proceed," Major said.

Overhead another group of dragons appeared. Harry glanced up and then checked his watch. He smiled. Lobsang arrived with Maziang Wing one.

"From the look on your face I'd say that wing is probably from our Tibetan friends?" Major asked softly.

Harry glanced over to see Skip and Kat introducing Clinton to the Condron riders and their dragons. Satisfied that they would be fine, he turned back to Major. "Yes sir, this day isn't just about Campbeltown, it's about all of the dragons around the world. The Weyrs are here for them. We will admit that there is an Asian weyr, but never reveal it's location. Its possible that Maziang will remain a secret for years to come. It wouldn't be the only place that is highly protected and exists in secrecy in that country."

Major blinked and turned to stare at Harry. "You don't mean..."

"Shangri La is very real sir and so well protected not even the Chinese military can't find it. It and Maziang are probably the last little islands of freedom in Tibet," Harry replied.

"_Harry, Ronan wants you to know that Maziang is joining the Wings at Hangar three,"_ Chekiath announced.

"Thank you Cheki," he replied, then he led Major over to where Lee stood with Soranth. "Prime Minister Major, may I introduce you to Wing Leader Lee Jordan. He has made a lot of use of your office of public affairs. Lee now heads up our Public Affairs office."

Major nodded, he had been briefed on all of the riders and like most politicians, had a knack for remembering just enough detail to impress people. "Yes I recall seeing you in and out of the office on several occasions but we have never been formally introduced. I understand you were badly injured not too long ago, are you well now?"

Lee flashed a brilliant smile. "I'm much better now. Doctor Sheppard took really good care of me. Thank you for asking sir."

"Lee is our resident artist and the inventor of the Jordan wands that are now making their way into your auror corps. You've seen some of his artwork. In fact, the cover for the press kit is his design," Harry offered.

Major's eyes lit up and he smiled. "You have an excellent eye then. I saw the designs when my staff was picking out the artwork. If you did those, then you should know our office graphic designer was jealous of the work."

Lee smiled broadly, "Thank you sir."

Harry nodded to Lee and motioned for him to lead.

Yesterday he had taken Lee aside and told him that he expected Lee to introduce his Wing to the Prime Minister. Once Lee got over his shock he reluctantly agreed. Now Lee led the Prime Minister over to introduce Abbey while Harry trailed behind and carefully listened to the chatter on among the dragons. There were dragons watching the Weyr, on airborne patrol, others sitting on top of the hangars or keeping an eye on the main gate. All of the dragons knew he was listening in on their conversations even if he didn't join in.

"_Weyrleader, Hermione wants to know how you're holding up,"_ Comaloth said unexpectedly.

He smiled, May and Hermione had turned out to be the brightest spots in his life behind Chekiath. Hermione was more of a worrier than May was. She'd worry about him and occasionally nag him to make sure he was taking care of himself. May was diametrically opposite, she'd poke fun and tease him as a way of lightening his mood. They were opposites in other ways, but together they sometimes reminded him of the Patil twins from Hogwarts, similar and loving to each other as sisters, but very much different people.

He was deeply grateful that they had managed to develop a close relationship. He was certain that without it, their trio would have fallen apart.

May was more spontaneous and Hermione was more considered. Where May would deliberately tease him in their large tub even in front of Hermione. Hermione wouldn't dream of doing anything like that unless she was alone with Harry. May would flirt and Hermione would cuddle. If pressed Harry would not be able to say what he enjoyed more.

In short the two girls balanced each other in all ways except for their mutual devotion to Harry, which they shared equally.

"_I'm holding up fine Comaloth. I don't think my nerves have really started to act up yet. I mean not to long from now I'm going to be asked to speak in front of the whole world,"_ Harry said mentally.

"_May says that if you do a good job you just might earn a special treat tonight,"_ Trath added.

Harry blinked, that was so like her. May was in front of Hangar three with Wing One dealing with the Orkney families and the diplomats and she still found time to tease him.

"_Hermione says I'm to remind May that tonight is her turn and every time its her turn it is a special treat,"_ Comaloth said, then she paused for a moment. _"I am unsure who the treat is for because right now she's turning very red and thinking very naughty thoughts."_

Harry shook his head. _"Thank you ladies, but right now I better catch up with Lee,"_ Harry said as a way of escaping what could have been a very awkward conversation.

"_May told me to tell you one word. Tomorrow,"_ Trath said.

"_What about tomorrow?"_ asked Chekiath.

"_Yes yes I get the idea, now hush for a bit, I have to deal with the Lord Holder,"_ Harry sent hurriedly.

"_While Harry is helping the lord holder, what about tomorrow?"_ asked Chekiath.

Harry coughed and tried to cover up the blush that was slowly creeping up his neck. Lee glanced at him inquisitively then turned back to introducing Prime Minister Major to one of his riders.

By the time Lee and the Condron Weyrleaders were done, Chekiath informed Harry that the Queen's motorcade had just passed through the main gate. He told Chekiath to tell Ronan to gather up the princes and meet him at the Kitchen Hall. He also sent a request that Weyrleaders, the Grangers, Sirius, Remus, Lord Mills and Sir Robert meet there. As much as he wanted to include Hermione and May, he needed them attending to their visitors. He knew that they would be listening to every word said via Chekiath.

Harry and his group had arrived while the Queen and her party were disembarking in front of the Administration building. The two security groups merged seamlessly as Harry stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, welcome to Campbeltown Weyr."

Chekiath stood just behind Harry. He dipped his head once and repeated his own welcome. _"Welcome to Campbeltown Weyr, may you find peace and shelter under our wings."_

The Queen smiled brightly. She had been looking forward to this day for a while. The Prime Minister's office had been sending her information about the events of the last month and she had the entire family briefed about dragons and magic only a few weeks ago.

"Thank you for your most gracious welcome Weyrleader. We are very happy to lend our support for this undertaking. You and your dragons have done much to earn the gratitude of our people," replied the Queen.

Harry blushed and her smile brightened even further. It warmed her to see that he was still somewhat uncomfortable in his role. One of the dangers that all leaders face was letting the job go to his head. She was pleased to see that someone was keeping him firmly planted.

The Queen glanced around the Weyr. From her vantage point she could see three distinct crowds of people, the press, the diplomats and the families of the Orkney crew. She turned back to Harry and Cheki. "It is good thing to have the Orkney families here Weyrleader. For the survivors we have been told that many remember only snippets of the events once they went into the water. Bringing them here allows many to fill in those gaps."

"_We think that kind of help is something we can do often Lady Holder,"_ Chekiath replied. _"It is nice to know the hot rocks are important and will help people. But we were meant for more. The Pern humans created us to save their world. Now Harry and the riders give us a chance to save humans here."_

Harry glanced up at Chekiath fondly, then he turned back to the Queen. "My Weyrhealer has been clamoring for us to contact someone in the Red Cross. We are certain that we can respond to a disaster quicker than anyone else."

The Queen looked surprised, then she nodded. "A very noble ideal indeed. My Prime Minister mentioned that our Coast Guard is interested in working with the Weyr and I know the Navy is most impressed. Our First Sea Lord sang your praises for your recent action. He also made a very strong case for awarding a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal to the dragon that saved the helicopter crew."

Harry nodded and looked a bit uncomfortable, "That might need to wait a bit Ma'am. Cetath was injured recovering the helicopter and has developed a serious infection. I am told by our Weyrhealer that they now believe he is fighting off the infection. For a while the whole Weyr was worried we might lose him. Cetath was the first dragon we have tried to apply modern surgical techniques to, his loss would have been a severe blow to the Weyr."

The Queen shot an aide a surprised look, apparently no one had explained Cetath's injuries to her. She turned back to Harry. "We will visit with your injured dragon then," she announced suddenly. Around her nearly a dozen security people grimaced with her announcement.

In very short order Harry found himself hustled into the Queen's car for the short trip to the Dragon Infirmary. As they rode he frantically sent a message to May to drop whatever she was doing and get to the infirmary double quick.

He wasn't surprised to find May, flushed and breathing heavily in the infirmary when they arrived. He held up a hand and she relaxed slightly, then the Queen entered the room and she understood what was happening. This was not part of the planned activities for the day, but the Queen had made a decision.

"Your Majesty," Harry said softly, "You remember Miss May McNulty, one of our Weyrhealers."

The Queen smiled reassuringly at May, then she glanced shrewdly at Harry. She might not have been briefed about Cetath, but she certainly knew about the Weyrleader's relationships. "Yes we remember and have heard only good things about her. Would you care to show us your patients Miss McNulty?"

May bobbed a quick curtsy, then turned and walked over to a nearby stall. "This is Krath from Weyr number thirty. Krath came to us with an eye infection that is responding well to daily eye washes to sooth his eye and a general antibiotic."

"Weyr thirty?" echoed the Prince consort.

Harry turned to the Duke of Edinburgh, "Cheeseman Island off the north east coast of New Zealand. Our healers handle cases from around the world. Hagrid, our other Weyrhealer, is right now out making his rounds. We try to heal what we can at the Weyrs, but some of the harder cases are brought here for extended treatment.

"I had to order Hagrid out on his rounds for today. Considering we cannot reveal the existence of magic it was felt that people might suspect something if they saw him. At nine feet tall he is hard to miss."

The Duke nodded with a grin. "Quite so."

The Queen nodded and smiled at the dragon who watched the little group pass by.

May stopped at the next stall and turned to the Queen. "Cetath is recovering from an injury and infection. When the helicopter crashed in the channel he grabbed it from the sea and brought it to the Illustrious. Unfortunately a large piece of helicopter blade sliced into his right front paw and I was forced to attempt to suture the wound on the deck of the ship. We had to remove a piece of metal nearly three feet long from the injury, then suture it up before he could be transported back to the Weyr. The injury developed a severe abscess which we cleaned and drained. It took a bit to find an antibiotic which he responded to.

"Today is the first time in days that his temperature is nearly normal. We are hopeful that it signifies the infection is finally going away," May said.

The Queen stepped closer to the dragon who was curled up in his sand bed. Harry could tell just by the yellow and black streaks in is eyes that the dragon was still in some distress. "Cetath, this is the Lady Holder," he said softly.

"_Welcome to our Weyr Lady Holder, you honor us with your visit,"_ Cetath replied. As he looked up, streaks of green could be seen in his eyes, replacing the yellow and black.

"How could we not visit Cetath, by your actions two of our pilots will live. You showed much bravery and we thank you deeply for your efforts," replied the Queen with a warm smile.

"Do the colors in the eyes mean anything?" the Duke asked quietly. The Queen continued to converse with Cetath and Harry turned his attention to the man next to him.

"A single color tends to indicate a single emotion. Green for example can indicate everything from extreme happiness to mild contentment based on the amount of green appearing," Harry replied softly. "Combinations of colors are harder to interpret. Cetath's eyes were lightly streaked with yellow and black when we first arrived, indicating the dragon was in some distress. Could he be in pain? Perhaps but May and her helpers usually are very good about that so I don't think he's in pain, another reason could be he was just unhappy because he couldn't participate in today's events. All of the dragons were excited about today and I know he wanted to be there. Whatever the exact reason, the Queen's visit has given him a boost."

The Queen reached out and gently pat Cetath on his neck, then she straightened out and turned around. Something caught her eye and she pointed to the large stall where Lornth lay with his wings connected to the framework.

May scurried behind the Queen who walked over to the stall. She paused and looked at the large display being projected against the wall. "Shakespeare," she whispered in delight, then she took a closer look at Lornth frowning at his braces.

"The dragon readers are connected to a steadily growing library that we keep on the Weyr file server," Harry offered. "We don't have many of them yet, but since we knew Lornth would have a protracted stay in the infirmary we set one up for him."

Harry stepped closer to Lornth who watched Harry with some amusement. "Ma'am, may I introduce Lornth. He was badly injured in the attack on the Hogsmeade school. The terrorists used a device normally meant to kill a Nundu, one of the most dangerous magical animals in existence. Lornth was caught by the weapon and he broke many bones in his wings. We are hopeful that he'll be able to fly again."

"_Other than the itch, it is not too bad, it no longer hurts,"_ Lornth said. _"May and the other Weyrhealers have been a big help and they say that maybe next week they will be able to remove some of the metal. Welcome to our Weyr Lady Holder."_

May stepped forward and smiled at the large dragon. "Lornth broke seven major bones in his left wing and six in his right. Initially we brought in a large x-ray machine and after taking over forty images per wing we were able to put together a good idea of the damage. With the help of my father, who designed the pulley system and the framework we immobilized the wings. Three times a day we remove the locks at the joints and carefully move the wings to exercise the joints. Since the joints were undamaged we don't want him to lose that mobility.

"Next week we're going to bring the x-ray machine back in to check his progress. We hope we'll be able to begin dismantling the traction frame soon. After that he'll require months of exercise but I'm confident he'll fly again."

"A delegation of teachers, parents and children from Hogsmeade are scheduled to come visit him on Saturday. The children are very eager to see their dragons," Harry offered.

The Queen smiled at the idea. She had seen the way the children from the families of the Orkney survivors were swarming over the dragons. It was a powerful image to see a fifty foot long dragon gently letting three small children sit on her back.

She looked up again at the metal framework. "So much hurt for us," the Queen mused softly. She glanced around and saw there was only one other filled stall and that dragon appeared to be sleeping.

"With respect Ma'am, but not all of it has been just for your subjects. Your nation has done so much for us. I prefer to think we've been helping each other," Harry said.

She glanced over at him and nodded, then she looked at her Duke. It was clear she was telling him something even if no words were being said. He nodded and she turned back to May. "My dear, the one thing I think I should learn by now is that there is nothing a dragon, or their riders can't do when they set their minds to it. I am very impressed with what you have managed to accomplish here."

She turned back to Harry. "And now Weyrleader, let us join my Prime Minister, we have a luncheon still before we introduce our friends to the world."

Harry bowed slightly and he shot May an approving look, then he followed the Queen from the building.

May sighed deeply and leaned against the wall. With a trembling hand she wiped at her brow.

"_She likes you,"_ Lornth said.

May looked over at Lornth. "I'm sorry?"

"_The Lady Holder, she likes you. You surprised her and now she thinks you are a worthy consort to the __Weyrleader. Chekiath thinks she was worried that the Weyrleader would chose mates that would not help him be a good leader. I don't know if Chekiath is right, but she was much relieved when she left here,"_ Lornth said.

"_Then the Lady Holder has good taste,"_ Trath said suddenly.

"_I liked May first,"_ Chekiath added, _"but maybe it was because Harry liked her so much. Between May and Hermione I never could tell which one he'd liked best in those bathing suits at Disko Island. Both were the same I think. I know he thought of them often."_

"That will be enough from you guys," she muttered.

She recalled the time after Harry had been injured saving Michelle, and the witches of the group transfigured bikinis for the girls. It had been the skimpiest bikini that she had ever worn, but she didn't want to hurt Luna's feelings by complaining about it.

She smiled to herself and made a mental note to tell Hermione what Cheki had said. Hermione often transfigured their clothing so they could join Harry in the tub, but she used a much more modest style bikini. It might be amusing for them both to join Harry sometime wearing something a little more daring since Luna's bikinis obviously made such an impression.

In the Kitchen Hall the Queen sat down to a surprisingly well cooked lunch. The kitchen staff for the day were on loan from the Army base next door, but the cooks in the back were two house elves who had been trained to make exquisite meals.

Harry ate uneasily, he knew the clock was ticking down to a moment he was dreading. He tried to pay attention to the conversation between the Prime Minister and Lobsang. Major was grilling Lobsang about Shangri La and despite his discomfort at talking to such an important man he was answering the questions without hesitation. Like Harry, Lobsang had been altered by his impression. As he glanced around the table he suddenly understood, they all had been altered.

"I realize this will be your first time in front of a television camera, but you shouldn't let it worry you," the Duke said from across the table.

Harry looked up in surprise then he grinned ruefully. "Does it really show?"

"Oh heavens yes, but really we all had the jitters that first time," replied the Duke. "I understand you have an edge none of us have. You can call upon your dragon to help keep you calm."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, in truth his bond had been especially strong all day. Even with Cheki on the roof and Comaloth over at hangar two, he felt the dragons as if they were in the room.

A door opened and the Prince of Wales entered, having extracted his sons from the James Bond marathon that the Elves were watching. Both boys saw their grandmother and they instantly settled down and greeted her, then they joined everyone at the table.

The Queen lifted one elegant eyebrow at their flights suits.

"The Princes have been a huge help in the past few days. They've learned how to properly fly on a dragon and how to care for one. Prince William has reviewed some of the dragon memories from Britain and found some interesting discrepancies that will need to be looked at. Prince Harry spent several hours with some of the army technicians working on our network."

The Queen nodded approvingly and gave each grandson an austere smile. She was glad to see that the boys had enjoyed their stay and had learned about their new dragon friends. Such knowledge would do them well. It would be their generation that had to adjust to sharing the world with dragons.

Harry heard something and he turned to look at the TV that was mounted in the corner of the room. Right now it was playing the private BBC feed from Campbeltown down to London where the show would receive its final edit for broadcast. The screen showed Sir David Attenborough speaking with Remus and Sir Robert.

Harry swallowed nervously and stared.

"_It's not all that hard to understand David," Remus said. "The dragons were locked within their own minds, unable to communicate with each other or even reason. Harry stumbled upon Chekiath's egg hatching at a critical time in the hatching process. His impression of Chekiath triggered... well for want of a better description, a telepathic shock wave that broke the dragons free from their prison."_

_Underneath Remus a sign flashed naming him and listing his title as Weyr Historian. _

"_Harry's connection to the dragons is unique among all the riders. He can speak to any dragon on the planet which is why they follow him. Other people have turned out to be sensitive enough to the dragons to impress one dragon, but thus far only Harry can speak to them all. Because of that ability, and because of their gratitude for releasing them from the confinement of their own minds, the dragons conferred on Harry the title of Weyrleader for all dragons. In a way he is like a king."_

Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands. He looked up a moment later and pierced Remus with a glare. "Please tell me you didn't call me that!"

Remus smiled in reply. "I'm sorry Harry, but the analogy is appropriate. I know Condron and Maziang have their own leaders. But if you called for help every dragon in the world would respond, even the bonded dragons from the other Weyrs."

Kat placed her drink down and looked at Harry. "I know it makes you uncomfortable Harry, but it really is best this way. We run the Weyr and do the things you would do if you were there. The dragons listen to us, but the more I thought about it the more I understood that someone needed to set a policy for all Weyrs to follow or there would be chaos."

"It's not that bad Harry," Sirius offered.

Harry sighed and shook his head. It was too late to do anything about it. "I just don't want anyone thinking I want that kind of power," he said. "The press could blow that all out of proportion."

"They could and most likely will," replied the Queen, then she smiled to soften the sharpness of her tone. "But you have a press office that is supposed to work to mitigate the wild imaginings of the press. Weyrleader is an unfamiliar term to the world so the press might very well run with that analogy. How your press office deals with it will result in how history remembers you Weyrleader."

The Queen leaned a littler closer to the table and looked directly at Remus. "Let this be lesson then, most of you have never spoken to the press. They can take a small word misspoken and turn it into a major scandal. You must be very much aware of what you say when speaking to the press, as much as you might like to think so, they are not your friend."

The Queen looked at her consort and in a very uncharacteristic gesture, she laid her hand on top of his. "We know that the public sees the Royal family and myself sometimes as cold and aloof. But when there are no cameras around we are just people like everyone else. It is a defense mechanism because it is better to appear aloof and restrained than to say anything that might be used against us."

The Queen had been looking directly at Remus who nodded fervently. He recognized a rebuke, even if it was a gentle one.

The Queen recognized that Remus got the message loud and clear, so she leaned back a bit, satisfied. "We hear you have been participating in a medical experiment along with others with your condition Mr. Lupin, how fairs that research?"

"Very positive your Majesty," he said in surprise. "I have not undergone a change in almost a year. The Americans want me to continue using the suppression potion for at least two more years, and I'll need to be tested for the virus every six months, but I am pleased to say that my last test came back virus free."

"Harry is pushing for using the Weyr to bring in all of the Weres in Britain for treatment. Unfortunately the drugs are not available for general use yet. More clinical trials are still needed."

Harry smirked slightly and the Queen turned to him with an arched eyebrow. "My honorary uncles were confirmed bachelors until they came to the Weyr. In Remus' case he felt his illness prevented him from enjoying the fullness of life. Now that stumbling block is gone and he finds himself flying in unknown skies as an engaged man."

The Queen smiled broadly. "Then you have our heartfelt best wishes Mr. Lupin. We find it to be a great comfort."

The Queen turned to Sirius who was busy smirking at Remus. "And what of you Mr. Black? We hear you've been seeing the daughter of one of our brigadiers."

Sirius looked up with a hunted rabbit expression and both Remus and Harry started laughing. Katherine placed a hand on his and leaned forward so she could see the Queen. "He is taking his time your Majesty, but I have no doubt he'll come to his senses soon."

Sirius blinked rapidly and stared at Katherine for a moment, then he slowly nodded. He mumbled something only she could hear and she shook her head. "You know that isn't true Siri," she said softly, "but we'll talk of this later."

The Queen leaned back in her chair pleased with herself before turning back to Harry. He blinked under her gaze and knew what was coming.

"My Prime Minister has explained to me about your unusual situation Weyrleader. Normally such a thing would be unthinkable, but given the circumstances we can see how such a thing might happen. Frankly we were very unsure of the propriety of the situation."

Harry nodded. "Ma'am I have to admit to finding strange. It wasn't anything that was planned. It took many hours of conversations between all six of us to find our way."

"Six?" pressed the Queen.

Harry smiled. "Your Majesty even those riders who are in a more traditional human couple relationship are actually four people, two human and two dragon. So there are six of us and surprisingly it works. What we are coming to discover is that the dominant dragon in the relationship is one of the driving forces behind the end product. In a way I am relieved my dragon could have taken many consorts based on his size and status in the Weyr."

"_That wouldn't have been fair to the other riders,"_ Chekiath said, joining the conversation. _"But I knew you liked Hermione and May equally."_

Harry shook his head and smiled weakly, there was quite a lot of truth in Chekiath's words. He just wished that his dragon wouldn't jump into conversations at random.

The Queen nodded thoughtfully, she hadn't thought to count the dragons, but the dragon bonding would insure the dragons would participate at least on a social level with everyone in the relationship.

"We didn't realize the dragons had that much influence," she said softly.

Harry put down his fork and turned to her. "It is not a compulsion. None of us were forced against our will your Majesty. In the end it was the understanding that our dragons would not ask us to do something they knew we couldn't do. The dragons know their riders at a level that exceeds any form of human intimacy. Once we understood that, we were able to see how things could work with all of us."

The Queen nodded, she had been within inches of lecturing Harry on his relationship when he brought up the fact that the dragons were equal partners. That put a complete halt to her personal outrage, she realized that the dragons introduced new requirements and it wasn't fair to expect them to conform to human morality.

"Well if your Miss Granger is anything like Miss McNulty, she'll be a very valuable asset to you," the Queen replied. Down the table Dan Granger bristled and only Emma stomping on his foot kept him silent.

"Chekiath?" the Queen said in a loud tone.

"_Lady Holder? Do you need something?" _

"Tell me, did the Riders of Pern have such relationships?"

"_No they didn't. In fact with few exceptions, the Pern riders rarely formed couples. We have changed since Pern. Over the years it became normal, even in the time of beast for larger dragons to have multiple consorts. I am The Weyrleader's dragon and the largest in the world. Spath knew I could have many consorts but he urged me to not overburden my rider. Comaloth and Trath are the best females with the best riders and will give me strong hatchlings."_

The Queen nodded thoughtfully.

"As near as we can determine Ma'am," Remus offered. "The Pern Weyrs had large groups of men and women that intermingled at whim. We think that the rest of the colony had more traditional pairings, but the Weyrs had unique circumstances, dictated by the dragon's make up. What we have now is a hybrid of that. There are some couples, and some triples, and a few that can't seem to find someone suitable yet. I believe it is something that the Weyr will be experimenting with for years to come until they settle into something suitable for everyone."

Remus waved his hand, taking in the room and everyone around him. All of the conversations had stopped to listen to this particular conversation. "I know Harry, May and Hermione had many many conversations trying to understand what was happening, and even more once they realized what was going on. None of them expected to be in such a relationship and all of them were initially against the idea. I also know that all three were initially against the idea."

He smiled at Harry. "Once they accepted it, Harry even asked us if multiple marriages were acceptable in the wizarding world because he wanted that level of commitment to his ladies. It is a problem that the Weyr is struggling with. I imagine this issue won't go away soon or easily and could haunt the Weyr for years to come. The riders know not to discuss this with anyone outside the Weyr. And they know most governments won't recognize a multiple marriage. But it is an issue that no one is happy with. Harry, like the others want to publicly acknowledge what they have."

Harry nodded fervently. Now that he was committed to May and Hermione, he really wanted to express that commitment openly.

"I had an old engineering instructor once that told me when you're confronted with something that isn't in the book, it's time to write a new book," said Prince Charles, then he turned to his sons. "Boys, I know you admire the Weyrleader, but it isn't acceptable for you to have more than one girlfriend at a time."

William laughed nervously while Prince Harry blushed and looked down at the table. Most of the adults laughed at that and the meal started up again.

An hour later Harry followed the others as they climbed the steps onto a large stage that had been set up in front of hangar two. Facing the stage were hundreds of reporters and the entire diplomatic corp assigned to Britain. Harry felt more than a little intimidated and awed by the fact that he sat, next to the Queen on one side, and the Secretary General of the United Nations on the other side.

While a section had been reserved the riders, none of them were present as yet. They would arrive at the appropriate time.

"Relax Harry, it's not as bad as you might think. Just concentrate on what you need to say," the Queen advised in a low tone. A large screen showed the stage and Harry could see himself, watching himself on television. In his belly a cold lump of lead formed. Soon he would be asked to speak and knew that these cameras were sending his image around the world.

"_Harry, May and Hermione both want you to know they love you and think you look great. I know __you'll do well talking to the world. How can they not be impressed, after all, you're my rider,"_ Chekiath said privately.

A man wearing headphones looked around carefully, then he turned towards the stage. "Thirty seconds Prime Minister," he said.

He moved to the side of the stage and a mobile teleprompter was moved into position in front of the podium. The Prime Minister stood behind the podium and watched the director silently count down the last five seconds on his fingers.

Prime Minister Major smiled broadly. "Good afternoon. I apologize for interrupting your normal afternoon television schedule, but I stand here today with Her Highness, the President of the United States and the Secretary General of the United Nations to reveal a secret that has been kept from the world for the past year, and kept from mankind far longer than that.

"I am reliably informed that our civilization owes its existence to certain key inventions that reshaped our world. The printing press signaled the end of the dark ages, the steam engine ushered in the industrial age, the telephone allowed news to circulate the globe in hours instead of weeks. The transistor brought about a revolution in miniature electronics and connected the world like never before. Today we are going to introduce you to something that will have the same profound impact, not just here in the United Kingdom, but world wide."

"Back at the end of March one of our Royal Navy ships suffered an accident at sea. Severe weather conditions made it impossible for us to rescue the crew and the ship was sinking. The next day we reported that most of the crew was safe and the ship appeared inexplicably in a farmer's field on Shetland Island as if by some miracle.

"At that time I was unable to tell you what I can tell you today. Today I intend to introduce you to the reason behind that miracle. The age old question of 'Are we alone in the universe' has been answered. And I am very pleased that they can call a small piece of Scotland home."

On cue from the director the cameras on the towers pointed skyward just as the entire Weyr appeared from Between. Counting Condron and Maziang, over six hundred dragons and more than one hundred and fifty riders. The crowd gasped, these dragons wanted to be seen and photographed.

Absolute silence descended on the crowd as the wings glided silently over head. The Weyr made a single pass, then peeled out of formation with a precision that would make a drill sergeant weep with envy. Chekiath stayed aloft with Spath. The two huge Horntails would be joining everyone on the stage. It had been built especially large for just that purpose.

Spath and Chekiath landed behind the stage and walked up the ramp until they were lined up with the other dignitaries

"Many thousands of years ago, an unknown race of intelligent beings created a race of intelligent dragons to help them fight a planet wide disaster. For many thousands of years these dragons lived to help their partners. Then in a fluke, an accident, one dragon who was heavy with eggs came to our world using her ability to teleport from one place to another.

"It was a mistake, a terrible error on her part and a symbiotic species suddenly found itself cut off, trying to survive without their partners. The dragons nearly died out before they learned to survive, but survive they did; and as they survived they changed, adapting to our world and it's different environment. They weren't meant to live without a partner species and they suffered terribly because of that. Slowly they lost their ability to communicate until they found themselves locked in their own minds, unable to talk to each other or even reason.

"We believe the dragons have arrived on Earth at a time when Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens both existed. They saw humans thriving around them but were unable to communicate their needs. And our primitive ancestors, terrified by their strange appearance forced the dragons into hiding from us. Dragons are a part of every mythology in every culture and have been so since the dawn of recorded history. Despite their abilities to hide from us, sometimes they were seen and sometimes people did interact with them. Without even understanding it, dragons became a part of our mythology and history.

"All that changed forever over a year ago when a very special young boy happened to stumble onto a dragon who had just hatched from his egg. In that moment of meeting, human and dragon, the old symbiotic link surged back to life and suddenly around the world, dragons remembered who they were and what they were meant to do.

"Something in humans had changed so that a tiny percentage of people can impress a dragon, that is, create a telepathic bond with a newly hatched dragon, forming a life long relationship. A tiny percentage of humans have this ability, but since there are so many people, it gives the dragons a real chance to regain their role as a partner race.

"Since that time more dragons have bonded with humans, helping to give back to a noble intelligent race something they had lost. Dragons are telepathic and cannot speak as we humans do, but they can easily communicate with each other and people."

Harry glanced down at the crowd and smiled at Hermione and May who were sitting in the front row. Normally the girls dress uniforms included slacks, but for today they had replaced the slacks with a knee length skirt that Harry found quite fetching.

Both girls gave each other a wry glance before smiling up at Harry. Content that his ladies were happy he glanced over at Chekiath. Chekiath turned and look at him, his eyes a twirling mix of green and blue. His bond suddenly widened and he could feel every dragon, every rider. For an instant, only a handful of seconds, his tight control on his bond slipped from his control. A vision flashed through his mind of the skies of Earth filled with dragons and riders being welcome everywhere. It only lasted a moment, then it was gone. He blinked and looked down, when he glanced up again, every rider was staring at him as if they had shared his vision. Harry frowned, the moment had lasted less than five seconds and had been so full of images he couldn't isolate them all.

"_They did see it Weyrleader,"_ Spath said privately.

"_It was very powerful Harry every dragon and rider saw that vision,"_ added Chekiath.

"_What happened? Why did it do that?"_ he replied silently.

Chekiath rumbled softly. _"For a week now our excitement has been building. We have looked forward to this day since you first promised to bring us riders and give us purpose in our lives again. You have been feeling that excitement all week and holding back your own excitement. Your control is __exceptional my rider, but for a brief second it slipped and you shared your deepest wish with all of the riders and the dragons world wide. Look at May and Hermione who saw what you saw, and more."_

He glanced over to Hermione and then May, both were sitting with stunned looks.

"_They saw families Weyrleader, it was only a brief look of a few seconds, but even I saw the sun colored hair of a little girl and a brown haired little boy,"_ added Spath. _"Your mates saw your hopes __for our future and saw it included them."_

"_I know you worry for the future my rider, but we are strong. You have made us so. Let us worry less about the future for today,"_ Chekiath offered.

"_Your dragon speaks well Weyrleader. It is good that you plan for the future, but do not forget to live the day,"_ Spath said.

Harry smiled. _"Thank you my friends. I will remember that,"_ he replied and turned his attention back to Prime Minister Major.

Down in the audience May glanced over at a stunned Hermione. "My god," Hermione whispered, then she shivered slightly.

"No don't call him that, we don't want him to get a big head," May said with a slight chuckle. "How about, 'our Harry and ours alone'?"

Hermione smiled and glanced up at Harry on the stage. "Yes, that will do nicely."

"And so we come to late March and a severe storm in the North Sea and the Orkney. Ordinarily storms do not affect our naval vessels, but the Orkney had suffered an engine breakdown making her uncontrollable in the violent seas. I can't tell you how helpless I felt when the First Sea Lord told me that they couldn't send helicopters out to rescue the crew. Thirty five lives were on the line and we were powerless to do anything but wait and pray.

"In desperation I asked the Weyrleader if the dragons can help. They have many abilities which currently defy our science, and one of those is that a rider only feels a gentle breeze when on the back of his dragon. The high winds would not have affected them like they would our machines.

"The Weyr leapt at the chance to prove themselves. The Weyrleader had repeatedly pressed the idea home that the dragons truly want to be our partners, but I never really understood until that day. Once asked, they eagerly stepped forward. The Weyrleader sent out hundreds of dragons to search for the ship and once they found it, the riders went Between and rescued every person they could find.

"The Orkney itself was sinking when the dragons found her. The Weyrleader had instructed the dragons to put her someplace safe and frankly we didn't believe the dragons would be capable of moving the ship, so no provisions were made to deal with the damaged ship. As a result the ship was moved by the dragons to a place where it could never sink. That is how the Orkney arrived in that field, the Weyrleader told his dragons to move it somewhere safe and they did."

Major paused and smiled broadly. "In a way you could make a case that aliens moved the ship like some people have suggested, but I would not say that. A long long time ago the dragons might have been aliens, but today, now thousands of generations later, they are as native to this world as any of us."

He gestured towards the sectioned off area where the Orkney families sat. It was right next to the section with the riders. "There is the proof of their benevolence. The proof of their desire to work with us for a better world. These are the survivors and their families from that fateful ship, plucked from a sea intent on killing them and brought to safety. Since that night, the dragons have proven themselves again by saving another Royal Navy crew, this time a helicopter that had crashed while on maneuvers. The dragon that saved the crew was himself badly injured and is still recovering from his injury."

Somewhere in the back of the crowd of diplomats a surge of applause grew to a roar. That dragons can help save lives and property was a very welcome concept to them. The Riders picked up on the applause adding their own. The Orkney families looked a little bewildered by the response and Harry almost felt sorry for them. As far as they were concerned, they had been blessed because the dragons saved their loved ones, they didn't realize that people were responding to them as an example.

When the cheering died down Prime Minister Major turned slightly so he could look at Harry better. "Weyrleader, our lives changed forever when you brought dragons into our lives. I know I can speak for myself and Her Majesty when I say the United Kingdom is deeply grateful for the lives of our seamen and for HMS Orkney. We look forward to a future that includes dragons and their riders as partners to our society."

Harry stood and gave a bow to the Prime Minister. Nearby Chekiath bugled loudly and instantly the call was taken up by the other dragons. The cameras in the towers swung around as if the operators were unsure what they should film, but it was the section that contained the Orkney families that finally captured their attention. They were on their feet, clapping and shouting, they were cheering for the people who had saved their families.

The director signaled and the cameras switched off. This was a planned break in the press conference to allow the press organizations to present short pieces about the dragons that had been put together over the past three days by the local crews.

Harry stretched, the afternoon wasn't over, but he knew from talking to Sir David that there would be a thirty minute lull. People started to mill about while Harry walked over to Chekiath. A number of monitors placed around the stage showed various reporters interviewing people and dragons.

"_It is going well isn't it?"_ asked Chekiath.

Harry smiled and reached out to caress his muzzle. "I think so Cheki."

A flashbulb flared and Harry looked around, then he spotted a photographer who shot him a thumbs up. The man backed away and went in search of another photo. Harry turned his attention back to Cheki not knowing that the photo of him and Chekiath would become Time's Cover Photograph of the Year.

Harry returned to his seat. The Queen glanced at him and smiled. She leaned closer to him. "Harry, if I may, I know this is uncomfortable for you, but in a few hours it will be all over and little more than a memory. Look out there, what do you see?"

He followed her finger, it pointed directly at his riders. "I see my riders Ma'am," he said questioningly.

"That's right, _your_ riders and _your_ dragons," she replied, emphasizing the 'your'. "Despite today being your birthday, today is about them. Today is the start of a promise you made when you first impressed. This is their day. As much as we might find it distasteful, sometimes we do things because we do them for our people."

She leaned a little closer and gave him a warm smile. "We will let you know a little secret. We hate war with a passion. We dislike visiting hospitals with our war wounded and hate attending funerals of those who died for us. But we do it anyway, for them because they have suffered for our nation. A little temporary discomfort on our part is the least we can do and that is what you need focus on. Today is their day."

Harry looked down at his riders, most had their attention glued to one of the many monitors showing some of the interviews. Behind them the diplomatic corps milled around talking to themselves. He spotted Albert Ford who was in deep conversation with several people at the same time. Ford suddenly looked up and nodded to Harry. He was in his element and enjoying every second of it.

Beyond the diplomats sat the assembled dragons of Campbeltown plus a wing from Maziang and Condron. Over six hundred dragons who watched everything intently, their eyes twirling with excitement. And through those dragons, all dragon-kind watched the events of today unfolding.

It had taken over fifty thousand years to reunite dragons and humans, and the dragons knew that they owed it all to one man, Harry Potter.

_It is about them,_ Harry thought. _Today opens up a whole new world for the dragons and it is up to us riders to insure that the dragons don't get overwhelmed. Pern was a simple place compared to our world. It falls to us riders to protect our dragons._

He turned back to the Queen who had been watching him intently as he looked about. He wasn't even aware that during that brief look he had straightened in his seat and squared his shoulders. "Ma'am, thank you," he said softly.

She reached over and pat one hand in a very grandmotherly gesture. "You would have realized it sooner or later. We just helped you see it now."

He smiled in gratitude and looked around, watching the ebb and flow of the crowd. The Orkney families for the most part stayed closely packed together and always when they were approached by some press, some riders would come closer to make sure they were being treated fairly.

May and Hermione were busy talking to their parents. Harry had snuck in May's family, listing them as attached Weyr personnel so that they could be here. Skip, Kat and Lobsang were in a group with Remus and Sirius. It had been quickly discovered that their white berets indicated a Weyrleader rank like Harry's and many people wanted to talk to them. Harry had warned Remus and Sirius to stay close to Lobsang and help if it looked like he was being hounded. So far however he was handling himself very well.

The monitors flipped images to show Sir David sitting in makeshift studio setting that was actually a mobile trailer. As he began to speak the audio was muted and the man directing the people on the stage rushed about signaling they were about to go live again.

Harry sat quietly while the President of the United States spoke. He revealed that the United States also had a Weyr, but didn't reveal it's location. His comments echoed that of Prime Minister Major with the exception that his comments were focused towards American interests.

The parade of dignitaries continued with the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Queen of England. It had been decided that she would introduce Harry and stand just behind him as he spoke.

When she finally beckoned him to the microphone he swallowed nervously and stood. Chekiath moved to follow Harry. As the pair reached the podium Harry's bond surged enormously and a serene calm descended upon him. It was as if all of the dragons were lending him the fortitude he need.

He smiled for the cameras and with one hand reached out. Chekiath moved his huge head closer and Harry gently stroked his dragon's eye ridges.

"Your Majesty," he started with a slight bow in her direction, "Mister Prime Minister, Mister President, honored guests and members of the press, may you find peace and shelter under our wings. We welcome you to Campbeltown Weyr."

Harry took a moment to pause and he smiled down at his riders who were watching him avidly.

"We are no longer alone," Harry said firmly. "Today I stand before you, speaking for a race of beings that have existed on this planet almost as long as we have. They learn, they love, they have humor and intelligence that is uniquely suited to their form. Perhaps they cannot operate machinery like we have, but until last year no one knew to design machines for a form such as theirs.

"In every regard they are people. People. That word has changed dramatically in the last year. It had to. The dragons were created by an intelligent race and are every bit as intelligent as any of us. My bonded dragon here is a gentle, loving being despite his ferocious appearance. His greatest wish is to be able to tell the world about himself in person. He can tell everyone here about himself, but he cannot speak to you though the medium of television and radio without the help of a special machine.

He frowned slightly and decided to bring up something that hadn't been planned in his original speech.

"Earlier today I overheard one reporter complaining that using our dragon writer was little more than proving dragons could be trained to perform tricks. It stopped me in my tracks and I asked the man if Steven Hawking was trained to perform tricks because the greatest mind this country has produced since Isaac Newton is limited to communicating by machine. Is he any less human because he cannot speak or write like we do?"

Harry paused as he let that little snippet sink in. He could see that among the diplomatic corps he had hit home rather hard with that comment. "Steven Hawking is a great person, and so is my dragon Chekiath. Both have a limitation that can be overcome with technology. Today the word 'person' changes to mean something beyond just human. It is a tiny change, but one that will echo down through the centuries. We now know we are not alone, and we have a partner race of people that want to help us stand tall and proud.

"Campbeltown Weyr has been granted limited autonomy by our great host nation and we are very grateful for that. Our American Weyr received similar status only a few months ago. Every Weyr with riders will receive the same status. An independent Weyr has many things to offer their host country. We are willing to speak with any country interested in hosting a Weyr and can explain the benefits we can offer as an independent Weyr.

"The dragons are eager to reach out to the people around them and it is our sincere belief that together, dragon and human, will be able to create a shining future for everyone."

He stopped and looked around, then the applause started, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of the dragons themselves. The non-bonded dragons of Campbeltown leapt skyward, maintaining their formation all along. The humans in the audience fell silent as the dragons provided a dizzying aerial show of precision flying.

The director signaled that the cameras were no longer live and people started to mill about on the stage. Harry quickly left the stage, he had something more important to do.

Five minutes later and feeling only slightly better he stepped from the bathroom to find both Hermione and May waiting for him. May handed him a bottle of water. "What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

"The Queen told Chekiath that we should get you something to settle your stomach. She said you were probably throwing up. Her father was the same way after giving every speech," Hermione said softly.

Harry grimaced, but he gratefully accepted the water. He opened the bottle and drank deeply. "I hope I don't have to do that too often," he muttered.

Hermione smiled. "Count on it Harry, before the Queen sent for us, she was deep in conversation with the Secretary General about you and Chekiath addressing a special session of the general assembly."

Harry groaned and Hermione held out a potion bottle. "This will settle your stomach, I'm afraid you can only use it after your stomach gets upset."

May glanced at Hermione who nodded at her. "Harry," she said a bit hesitantly, then she continued. "You were wonderful out there. Both before and during your speech."

Hermione nodded in agreement, then she added, "We could feel all of the dragons listening to you intently. They listened to everyone, but when you spoke we could feel them. It was incredible, and we could feel their approval."

Harry nodded thoughtfully and he glanced out a window seeing the long line of limousines and buses waiting for their passengers. He knew people were starting to filter out of the Weyr and the work crews would be starting to dismantle the towers and pack up their equipment. The networks were already playing their canned specials.

May stepped up to stand next to him. "Harry, what's wrong?"

He sighed and gave her a weak smile. "We made a lot of promises today, I just hope we can do it all."

Hermione stepped up to his other side and wrapped an arm around him. "Of course we can. You'll lead, and we'll make sure you don't make any mistakes," she said with a light laugh.

"_And I'll be the one everyone will admire,"_ Chekiath announced. _"We can't lose then!"_

Harry, May and Hermione laughed and exited the building, they still had guests to say farewell to. Tomorrow would be a new day with new problems.

* * *

**Author's Notes and Mockeries:**

- And so we come to the end of Book II in the Dragon Rider/Harry Potter crossover. I do hope you've enjoyed it. We had some rough times while working on this book, but through it all, we kept plugging away at it.

- Book III, tentatively named Dragon Storm will cover roughly twenty years of time, from 1996 to around 2015 or so. Work has begun on the story, but you good folks will have to wait until I am ready before you'll start to see it. I'm going to be selfish here and tell you not to expect anything for at least three months. I want to be sufficiently far enough into the story that I can maintain a 2 week update schedule and still write ahead.

Some people have asked that I publish a 20th chapter to Wings to announce the publication of the third book. I'm not going to do that. For one thing it's a TOS violation, for another it's just as easy for you to put me on Author's alert while you're taking Wings off story alert. Your other option of course is to join our Yahoo group. It is the one place that I'll be publishing progress updates for Dragon Storm. The URL to the Yahoo group can be found in my profile.

- Maloran is bored with the who who disclaimers. Well fortunately for him/her this will be the last one. On the other hand, his/her opinion about the disclaimers is so moving I nearly burped. Nearly. You aren't the only one who had a who who issue Maloran. A fair number had penis problems, either too short, or too limp, but I refuse to discuss those issues.

- Zabyne is still waiting on his post-it note disclaimer. Unfortunately we spent so much money on printing those damn disclaimers we couldn't afford toilet paper. Which resulted in our using the disclaimers for... well you know. I have paper cuts in some very uncomfortable places right now. Zab, if you still want a post-it note, I'll peel one off and mail it to you.

- Joshua the evil guy complains that there aren't enough people trying to take advantage of dragons. Ummm perhaps he's slow, or he's just overlooked the fact that until this point, 99.99% of the world didn't know about dragons. Of course that will change with the next book. People will try here and there to take advantage of them, and occasionally Harry is going to stomp on some heads. But I won't go into that here.

- Red Jacobson wants to know if we'll see some of the world's reaction to dragons going public. Red, if you're reading this, then you already know the answer to your question. But rest assured you'll see more about it with Chapter 1 of Dragon Storm! Coming to a bat channel near you!

- A few people have commented on how dragon anatomy should already be known because wizards routinely took them apart for ingredients. Well if you recall back in Book 1, May complaining that all of the wizard books spoke in terms of what each organ could be used in potion so and so. The books never properly identified the organs, never mentioned what they do. They only talked about what potions they could be used in. So no, the wizards do not know the anatomy of dragons.

- Guest left a bunch of questions via unsigned reviews, but we don't remember them and have deleted them. Sorry guest but if you want an answer you have to log in.

- And finally if you haven't already done so, leave a review letting us know what you think. While we don't write for reviews, they do give us a warm fuzzy glow (except for the death threats and the weird sexual offers that include cooking utensils, crisco and a shetland pony).

I'll close with a simple parting comment. So long and thanks for all the fish!


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